Nebraska's Brandon Browne overcomes adversity to excel

Nebraska's Brandon Browne celebrates after winning the Big 12 title on Saturday. Photo by Scott Bruhn/Nebraska Media Relations.

LINCOLN, Neb. - Time was running out when Nebraska's Brandon Browne shot in on a single-leg attack in the finals of the Big 12 Championships.

There was no way he wasn't going to finish.

Not after all the adversity he has been through.

Not after waiting three years to finally become a full-time starter after joining the Husker program as a walk-on.

Not after missing his entire sophomore season for academic reasons.

And not after seeing his mother, Thayes, die of a heart attack just 15 days earlier at the age of 49.

Browne did finish for the winning takedown in the Big 12 finals, dumping Missouri's Raymond Jordan to the mat for the decisive two points in a dramatic 3-1 win at 174 pounds.

"It was very rewarding to see Brandon get what he deserves," Nebraska coach Mark Manning said. "He goes out a Big 12 champion and he has a great opportunity to be a national champion. Brandon showed a lot of mental toughness and character and inner strength to come back the way he did after losing his mother. It was a very gutsy performance by him."

Following Browne's win, the near-capacity crowd at the historic Nebraska Coliseum erupted with a huge roar as an avalanche of emotion came pouring out last Saturday night in Lincoln.

A teary-eyed Browne pointed to his family in the stands as the crowd showed its approval. A short time later, Browne hugged his father, Bradley, and his brother and NU teammate, Cameron.

It was the last match Browne, a senior, would wrestle at home.

"It was an unbelievable moment, it was unreal," Browne said. "I know my mom wouldn't have wanted me to quit. She would've wanted me to wrestle and do my best. It was special to have my dad there and my family there. It all came together for me that day. It was unbelievable."

As Browne wiped away tears during a post-match interview, you could see the small but symbolic tribute he paid to his mother during the Big 12 tournament.

He wrapped a piece of white athletic tape around his left ring finger with the word "MOM" written on it in black ink.

"I wanted to have something on my hand that I could look at just in case my match was going the wrong way and I could see her name on my hand," he said. "Maybe it could give me the little extra push that I need."

As memorable as that day was, the biggest tournament of Browne's career is still on the horizon.

He will finish his career at the NCAA Championships, set for next week in St. Louis.

Browne returns to the Scottrade Center, the place where he finished fourth at the 2008 NCAA tournament.

"It was definitely a great year for me," Browne said of his junior season. "A lot of people around the country didn't know who I was. My confidence kept growing and it was awesome to place that high at the NCAAs. I lost in overtime in the semis, and that was a tough loss, but I learned from that and I've kept improving."

Browne is expected to be one of the favorites to win the NCAA title at 174. He likely will be the No. 3 seed behind 2008 NCAA runner-up Steve Luke of Michigan and All-American Mike Cannon of American.

Browne is 0-3 in his career against Luke, including two losses this year. Two of his three losses have been in overtime, including a 3-1 setback in the 2008 NCAA semifinals. His only other loss this year came to Jordan in a dual at Missouri.

Browne is 26-3 this season. He owns a win this year over Iowa's Jay Borschel, who beat him in the third-place match at the 2008 NCAA tournament.

"I feel way more confident this year going into nationals," Browne said. "I'm going in with the mindset that I'm going to win the tournament. I feel like I can beat anybody in the country."

The key for the long, lanky Browne has been opening up in his matches.

"When he's really aggressive, he wrestles his best," Manning said. "He has a high motor and he has to wrestle five aggressive matches at nationals where he's really attacking and he's really on the offensive."

Browne was a four-time state finalist and two-time Class B state champion for Plattsmouth (Neb.) High School.

Browne drew recruiting attention from NCAA Division II Nebraska-Omaha and Nebraska-Kearney, two of the nation's best programs at that level.

"I remember when Kearney's coach (Marc Bauer) came out to my house when he was recruiting me," Browne said. "I thought that was a big deal."

Browne also drew interest from the University of Nebraska and visited the Lincoln campus. Browne wasn't offered a scholarship, but he was offered a chance to wrestle for the Huskers at the NCAA Division I level.

"I wanted to surround myself with the best wrestlers I could," Browne said. "I felt like I could keep getting better being around all of the top wrestlers they have here."

Browne arrived in Lincoln with a fairly modest goal for his college career.

"I was just hoping to maybe make the starting lineup someday," Browne said.

Browne came to Nebraska and took his lumps in the wrestling room. He backed up two-time All-American Jacob Klein, a hard-nosed wrestler with a physical, punishing style.

Browne redshirted his first season in Lincoln and then started a handful of matches as a redshirt freshman when he filled in at 184.

With Klein graduating, Browne was set to become Nebraska's starter during his sophomore season at 174. But Browne was suspended for the season for academic issues and was stuck on the sidelines again.

"That was really, really, really tough," he said. "I knew I was good enough to be wrestling with the top guys in the country. It was a tough year, but I learned from it. I kept training hard, knowing I still had two years left as a starter."

During the 2006-07 season, Browne was still allowed to compete unattached in open tournaments. Among the wrestlers he beat that year was Iowa's Eric Luedke, who went on to place third at the 2007 NCAA meet.

Browne finally got his chance last season and made the most of it. He went 35-4, won the Big 12 title and finished in the top four in the country.

"At our banquet, I got the Most Improved Wrestler award," he said. "For me, I knew I should've won that award the year before."

It was around 8 o'clock on Friday evening, Feb. 20 when the Browne family returned home to Plattsmouth, Neb., after watching Brandon's youngest brother, Jesse, compete at the Nebraska state tournament in Omaha.

Brandon was back in Lincoln when he received word his mother was being transported by ambulance to the emergency room of an Omaha hospital.

Brandon jumped in his car and made the 50-mile trek across Interstate 80 from Lincoln to Omaha. When he arrived at the hospital, he was directed to a waiting room.

A few minutes later, his father walked in the room and broke the news to Brandon. Thayes Browne had died of a heart attack. She was just a few months shy of her 50th birthday.

"It was terrible, I couldn't believe it," Brandon said. "It was pretty devastating for all of us."

Browne took five days off from training after his mother passed away, as the close-knit family dealt with the tragedy.

Browne said he is thankful for the time he had with his mother.

Sundays were always "Family Day" at the Browne home. They would spend the day doing work around the house, inside and outside, and would always end the day by going out to eat together or having a big family dinner at home.

The Brownes didn't have a dining room table, so they ate dinner in their parents' bedroom.

"My mom would cook dinner, and we would take our plates up to their bedroom and eat up there. I always loved Taco Night," he said. "We would finish eating and then we would all pile on the bed and watch a movie. I can remember doing that all through high school."

His parents and family have traveled all over the country watching him compete in wrestling. He has three brothers and one sister.

"Our family is very, very close," Brandon said. "We have a very, very special family. Those times with my family, those are the ones I cherish the most."

Browne also dealt with some adversity this past summer when his best friend on the Husker team, Paul Donahoe, was dismissed from the Nebraska squad for an off-the-mat incident.

Donahoe won an NCAA title for the Huskers in 2007 and placed third nationally in 2008. Donahoe transferred to Edinboro for his senior season and enters the NCAA tournament ranked No. 1 at 125 pounds.

"It's been really weird not having Paul here this year," Browne said. "It's been different without him. We text all the time and keep in touch. We're both doing really well. I hope he gets back on top of the podium again this year."

Donahoe returned to Nebraska for Thayes Browne's funeral. He served as one of the pallbearers.

"Paul and I were best friends and roommates," Browne said. "For a college student who is still competing to drop everything and come back to Nebraska for the funeral shows what type of person he is. It meant a lot to me to have him come back. He knew my parents and my family really well."

Losing Donahoe, along with 2008 national qualifier Kenny Jordan, dealt a severe setback to a Husker team expected to contend for the NCAA title in 2009.

Even with those losses, Nebraska earned a share of the Big 12 team title with Iowa State. The fourth-ranked Huskers qualified seven wrestlers for nationals, including four returning All-Americans.

"I think we can do as well as anybody," Browne said. "We are only bringing seven guys, but four of our guys have a shot of making the finals. Plus, we have a couple of other guys who are capable of doing really well. Without a doubt, we have one of the toughest teams in the country. We proved that at Big 12s."

Browne is on scholarship now at Nebraska. It's an investment that certainly paid off for the Huskers.

"Brandon's had a great career - he's really developed into one heck of a wrestler," Manning said. "He's a wonderful kid and it's been great having him in our program. He's been a real leader for us."

Browne said he plans to pay tribute to his mother at the NCAAs in St. Louis the same way he did at the Big 12s in Lincoln - with her name written on tape he will wrap around his finger.

"My mom, she's always on my mind and always in my thoughts," Browne said. "I can't believe it's been three weeks already since she died. It's still just so fresh, like it happened yesterday.

"My mom used to stress out so much when she watched my matches. She's up in Heaven now and she doesn't have to stress out anymore. I'm excited to go out and wrestle and do my best and hopefully win a national title. I know she will be looking down from Heaven, and she will be proud of me no matter what I do.