J'Von Brown takes great pride in what he's accomplished since first putting on a football uniform during his Norwich Free Academy days.

A former self-described couch potato, Brown worked his way to becoming an all-state lineman for the Wildcats before graduating in 2016.

He's continued his developmental growth spurt at Central Connecticut State University while helping to build a successful program. He's considered a potential NFL prospect with a year left in his collegiate playing career.

He's exceeded his own expectations.

"I'm just proud of my class obviously turning (the program) around," Brown said of his CCSU career. "For me, personally, I'm just surprised and glad about how I took everything seriously and took my game to another level. Coming into college I didn't expect to be anywhere near the caliber of player that I am today. I knew I was a decent player. I thought after that I was going to level out and be middle of the pack.

"I never thought my mental focus would be as good as it is to be able to push myself to keep going more and more. All of my O line teammates were exactly the same. We just all lifted each other and pushed each other."

Brown, a 6-foot-3, 320-pound offensive lineman, is dealing with a temporary detour in the form of COVID-19.

When the football season was canceled, Brown decided to go to Philadelphia where his family moved a few months ago. He's taking one online class to finish his undergraduate work and plans to start graduate school in the spring.

It's been a big adjustment for Brown dealing with life without a football season.

"It's been really rough," Brown said. "I got hurt last year and couldn't play the rest of the season. And then when they canceled the season this year, it was a hard one to take."

He'll take advantage of the NCAA granting athletes affected by the pandemic another year of eligibility to play one more season for the Blue Devils.

He's fully embraced a sport that he once avoided playing because he was "just a lazy video game guy."

"This is what I live and breathe for," Brown said. "I can't even imagine what I would be doing if it wasn't for football. ... I feel like football has opened my eyes. I'm not only good at football, I'm good at multiple other things. I know I'm going to be successful in life, football or not."

Prior to moving to Norwich before high school, Brown never intended to go the football route.

Let's just say Brown preferred to take it easy.

"I was just a big dude, couch-potato guy...," Brown said. "I tried (football) but I was too lazy. I didn't want to run and didn't want to condition."

Then his cousin, Marcus Outlow, convinced him to join the Wildcat program.

Good thing he did.

Brown started as a freshman and played both sides of the line. His attitude and commitment level began to change for the better. He drew inspiration from watching motivational videos and clips of J.J. Watt and Ndamukong Suh, two NFL defensive linemen.

"That dog mentality, I wanted that," Brown said. "So I started to do some little stuff on my own. I realized that if I put my mind to it, I could do it. I also had great support from my family. It got to the point where I liked it. And my mom said, "If this is what you like, you're going to do it.' "

Brown went on to earn All-Area, All-Eastern Connecticut Conference and All-State honors in both football and track. He was named The Day's boys' track athlete of the year in 2016 after winning the Class LL shot put title and taking second in the State Open.

He thoroughly enjoyed his NFA experience, crediting then head coach Jemal Davis and assistant coach Jason Bakoulis for pushing him to work harder and be the best that he can be.

"They treated football like it was a college atmosphere, that's how it felt," Brown said. "So transitioning from a couch potato to NFA, it was rough at first. But I gradually grew to love it. That Wildcat mentality was just drilled into my head."

"... Coach Jason Bakoulis got after me and made me work. I had to compete with Tuzar Skipper and the senior captains on the D line. It definitely pushed me to be the best I could be. I remember a lot of hits that he gave me my freshman year. A lot of them."

Brown is now delivering the big hits.

During his CCSU career, he has opened a lot of people's eyes. He helped anchor an offensive line that enabled the Blue Devils to rush for 223.6 yards per game in 2018. CCSU won the Northeast Conference championship in 2017 and 2019 and qualified for the NCAA FCS playoffs.

A two-time All-Northeast Conference first team selection, he was named to the Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-American third team earlier this month.

He's looking forward to playing next year for the Blue Devils after a shoulder injury limited him to just four games in 2019. He's working out at home in Philadelphia, trying to maintain muscle and lose some weight.

As far as his pro dreams, Brown has received positive feedback so far about his chances.

"I've proven myself and proven on that platform that I have, being an All-American numerous times," Brown said. "Then I've got feedback from my coaches and they're just like, 'You have a shot. You're getting all the looks. You've just got to continue to better yourself and perfect your technique and just drill it into your head and you'll have a shot.' "

g.keefe@theday.com