A pair of former Public High League football standouts are closing their respective careers in high style with fantastic senior seasons.
Former Beaumont High star Niles Brinkley has been one of the unsung heroes for the Wisconsin Badgers, who won the Big Ten Conference championship and earned the league’s automatic BCS berth to the Rose Bowl. Wisconsin will face TCU on New Year’s Day.
Before heading to Pasadena to play in the Rose Bowl, Brinkley will receive his diploma in two weeks with a degree in Agriculture Business.
Brinkley, a fifth-year senior, has been a stalwart in the Badgers defensive backfield throughout his career. He came to Wisconsin as a wide receiver, but switched to defense and become one of the top defensive backs in the Big Ten. The 5’10” 190-pound Brinkley has been a key player on the Badgers’ defense that has limited opposing teams to less than 200 yards passing per game this season. He has six interceptions in his career, in which he has started 24 games.
“Niles is having the best year of his career,” said Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Doeren. “I always love when seniors are playing their best football. That means a lot to a coach.”
At the UW postseason awards banquet, Brinkley received the Jay Seiler Coaches Appreciation Award, which is given to a defensive player who has made outstanding contributions to the team’s success on and off the field.
Brinkley was a tremendous two-way performer at Beaumont, where he played for his older brother Lorenzo Brinkley, who was a former star at Hazelwood Central and Nebraska.
Lorenzo is now an assistant coach at Southeast Missouri State, which just completed a remarkable turnaround season in which it won the Ohio Valley Conference title and earned a berth in the NCAA FCS playoffs.
Also getting it done at the collegiate level was former Miller Career Academy standout Raymond Webber, who enjoyed an outstanding senior season at the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The 6’3” 220-pound wide receiver was the Most Valuable Player of the St. Louis Gateway Classic back in September after a record-setting performance, which included three touchdowns.
Webber’s homecoming performance in St. Louis was merely a prelude to a historic season where he became only the second player in the history of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) to have at least 100 receptions in a season. The first was Jerry Rice, who was a star at Mississippi Valley State before becoming the National Football League’s all-time greatest receiver with the San Francisco 49ers.
In 11 games, Webber has 101 receptions for 1,429 yards, which is first among NCAA FCS schools. He also leads the nation with 129.9 yards per game and 14.1 yards per reception. Webber led the SWAC in several receiving categories and set several new single-season records for UAPB for his receiving exploits. He was a three-time SWAC Offensive Player of the Week. Webber is up for several post-season awards as well.
We could see this young man playing on Sundays next season.
