They call Corey Brown "Pittsburgh" at Ohio State, and perhaps that never has been more appropriate.
Brown, one of the scattered Gateway grads playing college football across America, earned the nickname mostly because the Buckeyes have another Corey Brown, from Philadelphia, and two players with the same name might get confused when a coach hollers that name across the field.
But, the fact is, any of the Buckeyes coaches could just as well refer to this Corey Brown as "Pittsburgh" even if there weren't another Corey Brown on the roster.
The one-time Gators star might be the only Western Pennsylvania player to start the season in a scarlet and gray uniform.
While Jeannette's Jordan Hall could need 10 weeks to recover from foot surgery, and several other local stars with the Buckeyes have moved on, Brown remains in Columbus with two seasons left to flourish under new coach Urban Meyer and possibly make it in the NFL.
"I feel like I've been getting better these last couple years," Brown said, "as far as my technique, my physical ability and mentally.
"That's been helping me out. And with the new coaching staff, they're just feeding us more information and more stuff, so I'm only going to get better from here."
Brown chose the Buckeyes as a five-star recruit in 2009, along with Gateway teammate Dorian Bell.
They both were U.S. Army All-Americans, joined a roster then-head coach Jim Tressel had built with several WPIAL stars, including Jeannette's Terrelle Pryor.
Four years later, though, Bell has since transferred to Duquesne, Pryor plays for the Oakland Raiders, and Tressel works for the University of Akron - changes Brown says he thinks about sometimes.
"But, I mean, you got to adjust to life," he said. "It changes. So I don't try to get too down about it."
Instead, Brown is focused on making an impact as a nickel back and strong safety this season.
A 6-foot-1, 197-pound redshirt junior, Brown is listed as Ohio State's backup strong safety, and is working harder than he ever has in college, thanks to Meyer's new strength and conditioning staff, led by Ambridge native Mickey Marotti, the Buckeyes' new assistant athletic director for football sports performance.
"They put us to work," he said, laughing. "It was the like the hardest we've been working out up here since I got here. That's real good."
In the two seasons Brown has played, he has appeared in 21 games and has made nine tackles.
His goal is to make the NFL, but he also is studying to get a criminology degree with aspirations to work for the FBI if football doesn't work out.
Right now, he has two seasons with Meyer to get there.
"I'm going into my redshirt junior year, and I'm very excited for the season coming up with the new coaching staff and everything they got planned for us," he said. "We've been working hard throughout the summer so far, so I know we're going to be ready."
