"My focus, it just wasn't there," Brown, who has two years of eligibility remaining, said Wednesday after practice. "For two weeks strong, I'd go to everything, boom, boom, boom, boom. Then after that, the same routine, it was like, all right, I got to go here again, I gotta go there again. I just had to learn how to keep my head on straight."

Brown thought that by passing his summer courses, he would be eligible this year, but he said he still came up three credits short. Academically ineligible and having forfeited his scholarship, Brown decided he still wanted to be a part of the JMU team. So he phoned coach Mickey Matthews with a plan.

"I called him and I was like, 'Coach, man, I know I can't play but I just want to practice. I want to come out there, I want to help the team, I want to work,'" Brown said. "He could have easily said no just as easily as he said yes. I'm blessed to be out here."

Brown and his family had to find a way to finance his JMU education because he's off scholarship now. His shortcomings didn't go over well at home at first.

"My mom and dad, they were upset, disappointed," Brown, who is from West Palm Beach, Fla., said. "That's what parents are when you mess up. But they're behind me 100 percent. We did what we had to do to work out the loan situation and get everything paid for. So, here I am."

And so Thursday, with the temperature creeping well into the 80s, Brown practiced as a member of the scout team, working against JMU's first-team offense and simulating Hofstra's defense. The Dukes are off this week, then play at Hofstra on Oct. 1.

"We call him a scout-team All-American," teammate and roommate Justin Barnes said.

It was Barnes, a sophomore, who slid into the starting spot vacated when Brown got the boot. But the two have become close friends, and in August they moved into an offcampus townhouse.

"When I'm at home studying game film for the game, he's right there with me," Barnes said. "It's hard to be out here every day in the sun. And there's no benefits for him. He still has to pay for school. He can't play. I give him a lot of credit for it."

Barnes isn't alone. Many teammates have noticed Brown's effort and commitment. But on-the-field conduct wasn't Brown's problem. It was the off-the-field matters that derailed his JMU career. Senior defensive end Frank Cobbs said he's seen an encouraging change in Brown in that area.

"He's not coming up in conversations," Cobbs said. "That's a good thing, when people aren't talking about you. If you're underneath the radar, that's a good thing. He's handling his business. We're not talking about him. We're not wondering where he is. He's everywhere he needs to be."

Plenty of people were talking about Brown before last season. A physical specimen at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, Brown was among five Division I-A transfers to join the I-AA Dukes that offseason. Except for Louisville quarterback Justin Rascati, Brown was probably the most hyped.

During JMU's 13-2 national-championship season, Brown played in 13 games, notching 18 tackles, including five for losses, and three sacks.

Now, he isn't even listed on the team's roster on its web site.

"Mike can be as good as he wants to be," Matthews said. "He just has to get all of his off-the-field issues resolved and he'll be a great player."

Without Brown, JMU (2-1) has struggled at linebacker. Neither Akeem Jordan nor Barnes has played particularly well this season. Earlier this fall, Matthews moved safety Isaiah Dottin-Carter to the position, and this week, true freshman fullback Brad Davis converted to linebacker.

While he took a step down in competition by transferring from a I-A school, Brown said his schoolwork got harder when he moved to Harrisonburg, something he said he didn't handle as well as he should have.

"I could say the classes are a little harder," Brown said. "Coach, he told me that before I even came here. He said, 'This is a top academic school. You're going to have to work.' But I wouldn't say it was really the classes, it was more my part. Just being tired and choosing to do other things instead of my work. I just have to learn to discipline myself and be balanced."

Brown said he struggled to manage his time during the season, often falling asleep in his books when he finally sat down to study. He said he blames himself for being ineligible.

"I was definitely mad at myself," Brown said. "I don't want to point no fingers at any of my teachers. You know what I'm saying. I know it was my fault."

Because he can't play on game days, Brown lifts four times a week and has already gained five pounds this season, boosting his weight to 220. Practicing keeps him in the loop and has helped him win back some of the respect of his teammates, respect he lost when he lost his eligibility.

"I see a big difference in him," Barnes said. "I think when he got in trouble, it opened his eyes a little bit. And now he's realized he has to get on the ball or he's going home..... At first, we were kind of disappointed. But we understand how hard it is. The way he practices definitely earns him respect back."
Section: Sports
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Record Number: 1408