“Explosive.” That is how Quaker football coach Mike Ketchum describes senior nose tackle Brian Person. “He brings toughness to the team, his attitude is great. For a man his size he is very athletic.”
The 6’1″ 285-pound nose tackle from Hope Mills, N.C., was named to Don Hansen’s Football Gazette 2003 Division III All-America 2nd team, and was also praised in Lindy’s Magazine. This comes as no surprise following a 2002 campaign that landed Person in the Football Gazette’s All-South team and All-ODAC first team after recording a career-high 30 tackles, 14 for loss, and led the conference with 3 forced fumbles.
Off the field, Person is soft-spoken and reserved. He enjoys video games and reading, and majors in political science. The quiet, self-proclaimed “dork” said: “Yes, I’m in the Yachting Club and I love video games. The best game of all time is Final Fantasy III on Super Nintendo. I think I want to go to grad school, but if that doesn’t pan out, no big deal. What I would really love to do is be a video game reviewer. You get paid to play video games!”
When not indulging in the fantasy world of Playstation 2 or a Dean Koontz novels, Brian is in the weight room or studying films of his next opponents. Person puts team success before individual achievements. “My desire is for the team to excel; I don’t care about myself. You don’t practice in a mudhole forever to lose. We have to excel and all have that desire to win,” he said.
Person’s teammates say that his presence improves everyone’s performance. “His job is straightforward–putting pressure on the center and on the quarterback. When he gets pressure on them, it leads to bad throws that we can pick,” said senior defensive back Sherod Long.
Person acknowledges the awards he has earned but remains modest. “It makes me feel someone out there thinks I’m worth a crap, but that doesn’t make me God’s gift to football,” he said.
Guilford was 0-6 last year in ODAC play, and 3-7 overall. Person acknowledges the team had a bad season, but is confident that this year will be better. “For us as a team we have high expectations. Toughness, we have to have this to be successful. When you’re tough everything else comes into play.”
Brian Person exemplifies toughness. His biggest challenges during his Guilford years have not come from 300-pound offensive lineman or a Bob Williams economics exam, but from the loss of his younger sister. “It has made me enjoy what I have, pretty much,” said Person. “More than you can believe, more than you can believe.”
Guilford hosts Methodist at Armfield Athletic Center this Saturday, Sept. 13 at 1:00.