Antonio Brown

Antonio Brown is a NFL wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Central Michigan University, where he earned All-American honors in 2008 and 2009 as a punt returner. Brown was selected 195th overall by the Steelers in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Miami Norland High School
Brown attended Miami Norland HS in Miami, Florida, where he was a two-sport athlete in both football and track. In football, Brown played running back, quarterback, wide receiver, and punt returner for the Vikings. He was a two-time Class 6A all-state selection and was also named North Athlete of the Year at 2005 Miami-Dade Gridiron Classic. In track & field, Brown was a two-time state qualifier in the 100-meter dash, and also ran the fourth leg on the Norland 4 × 100 m relay squad, helping them capture the state title at 41.50 seconds. He spent a prep year in 2006 at North Carolina Tech.

North Carolina Tech Prep
Coming out of high school, Brown applied to Florida State University. His admission was denied over academic concerns.

After attempting to attend Alcorn State, he decided to enroll at North Carolina Tech Prep. Playing in just five games at quarterback, Brown passed for 1,247 yards and 11 touchdowns, while rushing for 451 yards and 13 touchdowns. Once he finished his lone season at North Carolina Tech Prep, he received a scholarship to play at Florida International University, but he was expelled before the season for an altercation with security. Brown then began reaching out to wide receivers coach Butch Jones at West Virginia, since he had been highly recruited by him. After learning that Jones had left West Virginia to become the head coach at Central Michigan, Brown enrolled at the school and started his college football career as a walk-on freshman.

College career
Brown attended and played college football for Central Michigan from 2007–2009.

Freshman season
Brown began attending Central Michigan in 2007 after wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni told him he could fly to Michigan and try out for the team as a walk-on wide receiver. Transitioning from the quarterback position in high school to wide receiver in college was not that difficult for him, and after a few weeks, Central Michigan coaches offered him a scholarship. Brown had difficulty adjusting to the college lifestyle, and being on time for meetings and practice. Azzanni and his wife helped him get situated and into an established routine, and he soon became like a part of their family. During his first season at Central Michigan, Brown played in 14 games. He played well enough to win the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year and was All-Conference as a returner. For his freshman season, he had 102 receptions for 1,003 yards and six touchdowns. His 102 receptions led the Mid-American Conference in 2007.

Sophomore season
Brown started every game during his sophomore season in 2008. Against Temple, he had three receptions for 33 yards and a season-high two touchdown receptions. The next week, against Western Michigan, he had 10 receptions for 113 yards and threw a two-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. On November 28, while playing at Eastern Michigan, he had seven receptions for a season-high 172 yards and a touchdown. For the season, Brown hauled in 93 receptions for 998 yards and seven touchdowns. His 410 punt return yards and 791 kick return yards that season led the conference.

Junior season
In his junior season against Akron on September 26, 2009, Brown had nine receptions for 89 yards and a season-high two touchdowns against the Zips. For the 2009 season, he had five games with over 100 receiving yards. In his last regular season game on January 6, 2010, against Troy, Brown had a season-high 13 receptions for 178 yards. He finished 2009 with single-season bests of 110 receptions (also a school record), 1,198 receiving yards, and nine touchdowns. For his career at Central Michigan, he had a school-record 305 receptions, (including the top three seasons with the most receptions in school history), 3,199 receiving yards (4th all-time), and 22 touchdowns (3rd all-time). On January 7, 2010, he announced he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2010 NFL Draft.

Professional career
On January 7, 2010, Brown announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2010 NFL Draft. Coming out of Central Michigan, the majority of analysts and scouts projected Brown to be a fifth or sixth round draft selection. He was ranked as the 37th best wide receiver by NFLDraftScout.com and was invited to the NFL combine, where he completed the entire workout and all the positional drills. Brown participated at Central Michigan's Pro Day and decided to try to improve on his 10, 20, and 40-yard dash times after being unsatisfied with the numbers he clocked at the combine. He was able to lower his time in all three categories. Using a pick received in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected him in the sixth round (195th overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft. He was the 22nd of 27 wide receivers selected in the draft, and the second by the Pittsburgh Steelers behind Emmanuel Sanders. He picked the jersey number 84, which he explained: "Eight times four is 32. Thirty-two teams looked past me, even the Steelers. So every time I go out there it’s a little added motivation."