The Brigham Young Cougars were not the biggest name school recruiting Randy Brock out of Madison High School. UCLA, Arizona, and Alabama all wanted the 6-foot-6, 260 pound defensive prospect. In the late 1980s, virtually nobody in Rexburg, Idaho would pick anywhere, but BYU, to play.
Choosing BYU paid off early for Brock. After redshirting the 1990 season, he found himself second on the depth chart to start the 1991 season. Brock found an opportunity to move up the depth chart in game one when starting defensive tackle Brad Hunter left the game with an injury. Brock played well enough against the number one ranked Florida State Seminoles to start the next week against UCLA, and never gave the starting job back.
Playing in the toughest environment BYU would face that season, Brock was remarkably composed for a freshman playing in just his third college game. In front of over 96,000 rabid fans at Penn State, Brock earned his first of three defensive lineman of the game honors from Cougars coaches. The other honors would come following games against UTEP and San Diego State.
In game four, Brock was a large reason why BYU was able to halt the Air Force ground attack that had been averaging over 330 yards a game. He had 10 tackles and the Falcons were limited to 209 yards rushing and a single touchdown that came in the final four minutes of the game. It was also Air Force’s first loss of the season.
From that point on, most Cougar opponents found themselves playing catch up most of the game and had to throw the ball a lot. This played to Brock’s strength as a pass rusher. He pinned his ears back and came after the quarterback with everything he had. He successfully sacked the quarterback 6.5 times (second on the team) and hurried the quarterback a team-high 22 times.
It wasn’t just quarterback’s who noticed Brock that season. The Sporting News named him to their freshman All-American team as a member of the first team. He was named honorable mention All-WAC.
Why number 3?
Brock’s already noted pass rushing skills made him more than just a big body who was difficult to get around. Only one player this century has had even half as many quarterback hurries as Brock did in 1991 (Jan Jorgensen, 11, 2008). Brock had 60 tackles on the season. As noted twice already on this list, that is a lot of tackles for a defensive lineman.
Why not higher?
Brock was not a complete player as a freshman. He had no tackles-for-loss.
Breakout game: Penn State (game 3)
Best game: Air Force (game 4)
Season Stats, 1991
Tackles: 60 (16 unassisted, 44 assisted)
Sacks: 6.5
Quarterback Hurries: 22*
Fumbles Forced: 1
* = Team High
Top 10 BYU Freshmen
10. Cody Hoffman, 2010
9. Greg Pitts, 1991
8. Jamal Willis, 1991
7. Luke Staley, 1999
6. David Nixon, 2003
5. Mike Morgan, 1979
4. Austin Collie, 2004
3. Randy Brock, 1991
10. Cody Hoffman, 2010
9. Greg Pitts, 1991
8. Jamal Willis, 1991
7. Luke Staley, 1999
6. David Nixon, 2003
5. Mike Morgan, 1979
4. Austin Collie, 2004
3. Randy Brock, 1991
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