GAMES
RANKINGS
Fort Bend Christian Academy senior Brady Dever.
FBCA’s Dever commits to play football, baseball at Brown
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.
Second Baptist School Football
2021 VYPE Houston Football Preview - The Contenders: Second Baptist School Eagles
Heading into their game against Lutheran South last year, Second Baptist School coach Terry Pirtle stood in front of his team and said they had to "sweep our porch off" to protect their district.
They did and then went on to reach the TAPPS State Semifinals for a third-straight year. Pirtle also won his 100th game as a head coach last season.
The Eagles have the pieces to get back there and beyond in 2021 with a loaded offensive unit. It starts with the running back tandem of Eli Smith (Villanova-commit) and Everett Skillern (Brown University-commit).
VYPE On Campus: Caught up with @SBS_Athletics RB & @NovaFootball commit @eli_smiith a few weeks ago. Talks about commitment to Nova, the season and facing Kinkaid this week #txhsfb @mawalker_SBAD @chandace_tryon @CoachPirtle @Deuce2CMC @DonaldFDavis @TappsFootball @bryce_ganious pic.twitter.com/7RmUA3nVmP
— VYPE Houston (@vypehouston) August 24, 2021
That duo is DYNAMIC.
Smith racked up 1,289 all-purpose yards and 15 scores a year ago, averaging 171.9 yards per game. Skillern, a first- team, all-state DB and second-team, all-state running back had 418 yards rushing, 166 yards receiving, 69 tackles, two interceptions and 12 pass breakups.
New quarterback Turner Murdock will get his shot this season, replacing Finn Nicholson, and he has an arm to target receivers Grayson Kim, Kyle Kollmorgen, Karsten Chambers, Hank Huthnance and TE Hank Harris.
This offense will have plenty of firepower and most of these guys will also play on defense for the Eagles.
Athlete Austin Courtney will be all over the field.