STARKVILLE – The moment is just as vivid in Titus Brown’s mind today as it was 15 years ago.
Brown can recall every detail of sacking quarterback John Parker Wilson on the final play of the game to secure a 17-12 upset of No. 21 Alabama on Nov. 10, 2007. The win not only gave Mississippi State back-to-back wins over the Crimson Tide, but also gave the Bulldogs bowl eligibility for the first time in seven years.
“That was Nick Saban’s first year and there was a lot of hype because he’s probably one of the best college football coaches of all-time,” Brown said. “A lot of their teams get a win just with the name Alabama. We blocked their name out and said that we deserved to be on the field just as much as they did and lace our cleats up the same way they do. We just came out and played 60 minutes of hard-nosed football.”
Brown’s teammates hoisted him onto their shoulders and carried him off Scott Field while his head coach, Sylvester Croom, gave a postgame interview with tears rolling down his cheeks after beating his alma mater.
Brown – a Tuscaloosa, Alabama native – always seemed to play his best against the hometown Tide. In four career games versus Alabama, the former Hillcrest High School standout posted 19 tackles, 3.5 for loss, two sacks and a 44-yard fumble return.
“It was always personal for me and coach Croom,” Brown said. “We were both Tuscaloosa natives that wanted to go to the University of Alabama. He had hopes of getting the coaching job there and things didn’t go as planned. So, we both played that game with a little bit of a chip on our shoulders. There was always a little extra grit when we played Alabama.”
Growing up in the shadows of Bryant-Denny Stadium, naturally there was an attraction to one day play there. But when the Crimson Tide took another commitment ahead of him, Brown began exploring other options.
And he soon found a program and a coach at Mississippi State that welcomed him with open arms and gave him an opportunity to shine. Brown was a two-time All-SEC selection as well as a Freshman All-SEC honoree. The 2007 team captain played in 44 games (30 starts) and totaled 170 stops, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and a blocked field goal.
Brown’s 36.5 career tackles for loss are the third-most in program history, while his 18.5 career sacks rank eighth all-time at MSU.
But whenever the Alabama game rolled around on the schedule, he always made sure that one was circled and provided a little extra. In his first two meetings against the Crimson Tide, Brown racked up 14 tackles and scooped up a fumble for a 44-yard return.
In his last two outings versus Alabama, Brown provided a pair of sacks in what both proved to be Bulldog victories.
“I always had a chip on my shoulder because I knew that I was one of the best at my position that was coming out (of high school) at that particular time,” Brown said. “But they didn’t see it that way. So once I got the scholarship to Mississippi State and Croom explained to me what he wanted me to do for him such as be a leader and be different, I embraced that and helped change the culture of Mississippi State football.”
Brown’s first win over the Tide came during his junior season in 2006 in the same Bryant-Denny Stadium he once dreamed of playing. State’s 24-16 victory that day marked the Bulldogs’ first win in the series in since 2000.
“It was very, very loud and there was a lot of energy and excitement,” Brown said. “There were a lot of emotions going. We had a lot of guys on the team that were from Alabama so there was a lot of excitement. Before the game, coach Croom told us that those guys were more talented than us but they weren’t tougher than we were. We went into that game knowing our strength and knew how to beat those guys. We just out-hit them and out-toughed them. We played tougher football than they did and came out with the win.”
Brown went on to have a four-year career in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos. He credits Mississippi State and playing under Croom, who had spent over 15 years coaching in the NFL, with helping prepare him to play at the next level.
“When you’re blessed to have a coach like Croom with an NFL background, he pretty much had us on a pro schedule before I ever got into the NFL,” Brown said. “I didn’t even realize that until I got to the Browns. If we were late for class or didn’t go to class there was punishment and it’s the same way in the NFL because they’ll fine you. For every action there was always consequences. He always stood on principal about us getting our grades and being the best human beings that we could be. It wasn’t always about football with him, he just wanted us to be great young men.”
However, just as Brown was coming into his own in his final two seasons with Cleveland in 2010-11, his career was cut short due to a knee injury.
“I was thinking I was going to play 10 years plus in the NFL and I only ended up playing four,” Brown said. “Once you’ve played football all your life and it just stops, you’re kind of in limbo and don’t know what you want to do. Coach Croom prepared us for life after football. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I knew I was going to win period because I was raised by a winner.”
What Brown ultimately decided to do with the business management degree he earned from MSU was get into the restaurant business. He and his girlfriend, Ashley Williams, opened Flavaz’s Seafood and Soulfood in Tuscaloosa.
“I felt like she had championship food and I felt like I was the person that could get it out there to the people,” Brown said. “We compliment each other. She does the cooking and I’m more so the guy that produces the food. I think we work well together.”
Flavaz’s Seafood and Soulfood started off in a strip mall in 2019 and has since moved to the food court in The University Mall. They currently have the highest restaurant rating in Tuscaloosa on Google and serve a wide variety of menu items such as burgers, philly cheesesteaks, pork chops, baked chicken, catfish, crab, shrimp and much more.
This weekend, Brown was contemplating having a “Beat Bama Special” but wasn’t too sure how that promotion would go over with the locals. He hopes Bulldog fans will drop by or pickup a tailgate order while they are in town or come in for their “Soul Food Sunday” the following day.
Many of Brown’s former teammates – and even coach Croom – have visited Flavaz’s for a meal. Willie Evans, Richard Burch, Malcolm Johnson, Tay Bowser, Craig Jenkins, Michael Gates, Jamie Jones, Clarence McDougle, Andrew Powell, Michael Henig, Jamar Chaney and Dicenzo Miller are just some of the Bulldog football alums that have all been customers at his restaurant.
“I was the team captain and my teammates respected me a lot and it shows,” Brown said. “Some of them traveled four, five, six hours just to show their support and I really appreciate that.”
And although Brown will be working at Flavaz’s while Mississippi State takes on the Tide Saturday night, he has a message for the current crop of Bulldogs as they enter Bryant-Denny Stadium.
“We won in 2006 and 2007 with teams that aren’t as good as the one we have now,” Brown said. “The way that we won wasn’t by talent, it was about heart and the sheer willingness to beat the other guy. Once coach Croom pointed out our strengths, we honed in on those strengths, which were toughness and the ability to outlast our opponent. That’s the way we beat Alabama. We went out swinging, stayed swinging and never stopped swinging.”
