Fort Bend Christian Academy senior Brady Dever.
Brady Dever’s first love was baseball. Growing up, he always had a glove or bat in his hand. But as a sophomore two years ago, he started to realize it was football that could take him somewhere.
That place is Brown University. And though it was Dever’s play on the football field that was a boon to his recruiting profile, it was his play on the diamond that got things started.
Earlier this week, the Fort Bend Christian Academy senior quarterback and infielder committed to Brown to play both sports.
“I was always a baseball-first kid, and I received my first offer as a freshman,” Dever said. “I had good football years as a sophomore and junior. I worked even harder to get to this point, to play both sports at the highest level.”
Dever said Brown is an “amazing” campus.
“Brown is in Providence, Rhode Island, but it’s not downtown,” Dever said. “It sits on a hill that looks into downtown and it is a beautiful sight. The campus is beautiful, and the facilities are amazing as well. I also really liked the open curriculum. When I went to visit, it felt like home.”
Dever is one of the more prolific quarterbacks in the Greater Houston area. He completed 64 percent of his passes and threw for 4,054 yards and 62 touchdowns while helping lead the Eagles to the TAPPS 5A state semifinals last season.
\u201c.@FBCAathletics 2023 QB @BradyDever1 talks about last season, the off-season and this upcoming season for the 2021 state semi-finalist Eagles. @TAPPSbiz @TappsFootball @FBEagles\u201d— VYPE Houston (@VYPE Houston) 1659537327
Entering this season, Dever has a good shot finishing in the state’s all-time leaders in passing yards, touchdowns and completions.
He spoke more with VYPE:
VYPE: What kind of plans/vision did coaches at Brown see for you?
DEVER: They think I can make an immediate impact right away. Brown is a very QB-friendly system and they have had some great QBs in the past. Coach (James) Perry is a QB guru and has a great reputation for developing quarterbacks. Coach (Grant) Achilles, as far as baseball goes, came to see me play this summer and loved my ability as a hitter and thought I would be very valuable to him as a player and person. Both sides have been very involved in the whole process. It felt very good to be wanted.
VYPE: How would you describe the recruiting process? What was the toughest part? What was the most fun part?
DEVER: The whole process was great. We had some mutual connections already and all the pieces fell into place. I’ve gotten to be pretty good friends with Everett Skillern (former athlete at Second Baptist School, a district rival of FBCA’s), who will be a freshman at Brown this year, and he’s helped me throughout the process. The whole staff was very interested in me on both sides, and they were always in contact with me. I went up to camp with my family and girlfriend and they made us feel at home and they went out of their way to make me feel that way. It was pouring rain when I visited, yet I still performed and fell in love with the campus.
VYPE: How important was it to you to find a school where you could play both football and baseball?
DEVER: It was really important to me. I’ve worked so hard since I was a little kid to make this dream come true and that is what happened. It takes sacrifices to make it happen but I’m all for it and I will do what it takes to make it work. To have the opportunity to play both in college is a blessing.
VYPE: What was the commitment to both football and baseball like? What were the sacrifices?
DEVER: I’ve sacrificed my summers for the last 10 years, playing both sports all over the country. It’s going to take a lot of sacrifices to play both sports because I’ll be doing it at one of the most prestigious universities in the world. It will definitely be difficult.
VYPE: How relieved are you to get the recruiting over with before your senior year starts?
DEVER: I’m very relieved. Now the weight of recruiting has been lifted off my shoulders. My family and I have prayed about this for a long time, and it feels good to have finally made the decision and to not have to worry about recruiting again. I’m looking forward to enjoying my senior year at FBCA.
