“I had promised my mom before she passed away, when she was in the hospital no matter what happens, if I go to the NFL or whatever, I will go back and get that degree.“
And that’s exactly what Saints offensive tackle and 2-time Pro Bowler Jammal Brown did. Following his rookie year in 2005, Brown went back to the University of Oklahoma where he enrolled in a few classes during the offseason. He eventually finished his degree through the internet.
“I had to do some stuff on the computer over in the Pro Bowl,“ Brown told FOX 8 Sports. “But I got it done and graduated. It was just a great experience; my family was just really happy.”
Brown is the first person in his family to graduate or even go to college. He compared graduation day to draft day but without the big contract.
“It was a fun deal, I got to see my family and some of the other guys I played with,” said Brown, who played in the BCS National Championship game in the Superdome in 2003 against LSU for Oklahoma. “Just to go back and get my degree, it’s been a dream of mine and that is something that no one can ever take away.”
“One day you have to quit playing football,” Brown continued. “And have another life and find something else that I enjoy.”
He’s accomplished so much on the football field, from being an All-American for the Sooners to getting selected to the NFL Pro Bowl twice.
But he called graduation day one of the most rewarding days of his life.
“Sometimes people look at us as just athletes, but now i got my degree so that shows I took school serious. “ Brown said. “It was hard at times with football, working out and going to classes, but I had a chance to go back and got my work done.”
And what made the day even more special was that this 28-year old fulfilled a lifelong promise to his late mother.
“It really was on my heart; I knew she was looking down on me from heaven smiling. And I’m excited about that.”
