There's a reason senior Preston Brown wears No. 1 for the Hillsboro Hawks.
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound quarterback is first to be there for any workout or practice.
His dedication to football is off the charts.
"He's always doing stuff on his own," Hawks coach Bill Sucharski said. "He was at a camp this summer where he was 10 hours away on a Sunday. And he got back there at 6:30 a.m. for our workout on Monday morning. He had about two hours maybe of sleep.
"Some kids would have emailed or texted they couldn't make it. But he was there with his teammates and working. He's one of the kids you don't have to ever worry about When you're a coach's kid, you know the expectations that go with that."
Preston's father, Don, is an assistant coach handling the special teams on the Hawks staff.
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"He keeps everybody on top of everything," Preston Brown said about his father. "We all go hard. He's the assistant strength coach. He's on us on about our technique and form.
"I just want to do whatever I can to help the team be better and me be better."
That may take some doing this fall.
The Hawks finished with a school-best 12-2 record last season, reached the Class 4 state championship game at Faurot Field in Columbia and lost 68-28 to Kearney.
The No. 28 recruit on the Post-Dispatch Super 30 countdown of the area’s top senior prospects, Brown has committed to play at North Dakota State in Fargo. He had a junior season to remember. He threw for 2,334 yards, completing 110 of 186 passes with 32 touchdowns against just 10 interceptions.
A dual threat at quarterback, Brown is an effective runner, too. He rushed 182 times for 1,144 yards and 16 touchdowns. He averaged 6.3 yards a carry.
"It was a breakout season for our program," Brown said. "We got where we wanted to be and that's playing for a state championship. That was awesome. Begin able to compete with those players who are my friends and with my brother (Payton).
"We came up short. It wasn't our day."
He aims to help the Hawks return to the final game of the season.
"I'm really ready," Brown said. "I think our team is definitely getting there. We'll be ready for the first game, and we'll get better from there. We'd like to get back and play for the championship again."
It will be Brown's third year as the starter. As a sophomore, Brown threw 88 passes with 54 completions for 849 yards and 13 touchdowns. He threw three interceptions.
He also gained 697 rushing yards on 91 carries. He scored eight touchdowns in helping the Hawks go 10-2, losing 55-34 in the quarterfinals to eventual state champion St. Mary's.
“I think I did pretty good for a sophomore,†Brown said. “I can honestly say I'm way better now than I was then.â€
So far, Brown has guided the Hawks to a 22-4 record with two district championships in two years.
"Those four losses were all to state champions," Sucharski said. "We're extremely happy to have Preston back. He is a tremendous athlete. He's a high IQ kid.
"He's a tremendous worker. He doesn't ever miss a weight room or speed training session. He gets training on his own. He works to make our program better. He takes it all very, very seriously."
Sucharski knows about quarterbacks. He played quarterback himself at Hillsboro.
He knows Brown is making a name for himself at Hillsboro.
"If he's not the best quarterback in our school history, he's one of the best," Sucharski said.
Brown makes big plays that can lead to victories.
He helped the Hawks score a dramatic 29-28 comeback victory over Festus in the Class 4 District 1 championship last season.
Brown scored on a 1-yard run with about 5 minutes left in the game. But he wasn’t done.
For an encore, he ran in for a two-point conversion to provide the winning points.
“People asked me about going there for two,†Sucharski said. “There was plenty of time left. We were going to kick it. We sent the PAT team out. They have an injury on the play. So that gave us time to think. We were thinking we had the momentum in the game. We had been down 21-0.
“We wanted to put the ball in his hands. He could give it to his brother or keep it. It speaks volumes about him. We trust him. That trust is developed over time. It's the stuff people don't see that he does off the field that makes him a talented player. It’s always good to see kids do big things.â€
Brown credited the whole team with that big win.
“That was just a bunch of us coming together. We knew we could do whatever we wanted to,†Brown said. “We had confidence. Everybody did their job. On the two-point conversion, that was the whole team really.â€
Coming off two great seasons, expectations are high for this fall for Brown and the Hawks.
"We expect him to have another big year," Sucharski said. "He's losing his brother in the backfield. So we'll expect Preston to step up even more in the run game and continue what he did last year in the passing game."
Brown can do it all at quarterback. He's a strong athlete. He reads defenses well. He commands the offense.
"There's not a lot as a high school quarterback that he can't do for us on offense," Sucharski said. "We put a lot on his shoulders but he's capable of doing all that."
Sucharski is impressed by Brown's accuracy.
"He puts balls in small spaces," Sucharski said. "He can throw it long. He did a long ball challenge in a camp, and he threw it 65 to 70 yards. There's not a throw he can't make. He stands tall in the pocket. He makes good decisions with the ball."
Sucharski expects Brown to "have a good year with his legs" this fall.
"He doesn't take any unnecessary hits at the sidelines. He's a strong runner," Sucharski said. "He doesn't shy away from contact. He's just a phenomenal athlete. He's pretty quick. He can put his foot on the ground and stop on a dime and make people miss. He's an elusive kid."
Brown has some goals he'd like to reach this season.
Winning a third district championship is one goal. He wants to take the team back to state.
"I want to make sure the whole team gets better each game," Brown said. "I want to try and have everyone be all together and be all in on what can be a state championship team."
For himself, Brown said he is thinking of reaching 3,000 passing.
"We'll be throwing more this year," Brown said. "I'd like to get 1,500 yards rushing. Coach Sucharski has been great to me. He's a good coach. He knows what he is talking about. He gives me good tips. Our quarterback coach Don Horn is good, too."
Brown is an all-around athlete. He is a shooting and point guard for the Hawks basketball team.
Last spring at the state track meet, Brown finished third in the javelin with a throw of 178 feet, 6 inches.
Brown received an offer from North Dakota State coach Tim Polasek and accepted it. He chose the Bison over SIU Carbondale, Southeast Missouri State and Wyoming.
"I just liked the culture of their program and the way they do things," Brown said. "I liked their head coach and the quarterback coach (Randy Hedberg) right away. They're a great group of people. I can see myself going there for all four years."
He will be a quarterback as a freshman, Brown said.
"I've been told I'll play quarterback my first year and then see how it goes after that," Brown said.
Sucharski believes Brown made a good decision in his college choice.
"In the last 15 years, North Dakota State has been one of the top FCS programs in the country," Sucharski said. "It's a good choice for him. He was able to get up there and go to their camp. He loves the outdoors. He likes to fish."
The transition to college football is one Brown will be able to make, Sucharski said.
"He’s always there and never misses any workouts," Sucharski said. "I think it will be an easy transition from the time commitment side of it. He does stuff on his own. He understands that commitment. Being up early in the morning and taking care of things is natural for him. He'll do fine."
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