Former Quarterback Max Browne reflects on his past at USC and future at Pitt

After being replaced by freshman Sam Darnold, Browne reveals why he decided to pack up and go to Pitt.

Max Browne is beginning anew 2,426 miles away from where he started. After losing his spot to Sam Darnold after playing three games this season, Browne, though he will miss his teammates, is looking to bring his quarterbacking skills to Pitt.

On the outside Browne will be wearing blue and gold instead of cardinal, but on the inside he said he hasn’t changed at all. “A fresh start I think is going to be healthy for me, but at the same time my work ethic, who I am, how I play, my approach in these past three or four years — or however long I’ve played football — is not going to change on my end,” Browne said.

The boys of Cardinal Gardens C124.

A photo posted by Max Browne (@maxbrowne_4) on Nov 19, 2016 at 11:35am PST

That was part of the reason why Browne transferred to Pitt. It gave him a fresh start and set him up for a chance in the NFL. It all rides on how he will perform this season and in camp.

“I knew I wanted to go somewhere where I could play and I wanted to go somewhere where I could win. I also wanted to go to a place that needed me and wanted me,” Browne said. And at USC he couldn’t do any of those things; not with young star Darnold leading the Trojans.

The Trojans, finishing this year with a 10-3 record and a Rose Bowl victory, have risen to national prominence once again. Pitt has slowly improved over the past couple of years and could have a similar performance next season, with ex-Trojan Browne at the helm. They were the only team to beat national champion Clemson, behind an explosive offensive and a nail-biting field goal that put them up 43-42.

Browne comes as a saving grace to the Pitt offense, and with him, Pitt has an opportunity to win an ACC title. “They have a graduate transfer graduating so the spot’s open I get to play and they recruited me hard and flew out to LA to visit me,” Browne said. It was clear that they needed him and he needed them. “I felt like it was a great fit I didn’t need to wait.”

When Browne stepped onto the field to play Alabama last year, that was probably the last thing that he was thinking about. In a whirlwind couple of months, Browne now finds himself acquainting himself with a completely new campus on the other side of the U.S as he completes his final two semesters of his MBA, according to ESPN.

Browne on the sideline. He will keep his number at Pitt.

“If you would have asked me four months ago about a fresh start I would have called you crazy,” Browne said. In his first three games this season he had 507 yards through the air, two touchdowns and two interceptions — it still wasn’t enough. Browne hardly expected that he would lose his job to a freshman but understands the business of the game. “There were definitely some things I did well but our team was put in a weird situation at 1-2 and I kind of got the short end of the stick.”

Browne is ready to move on, despite being cheated out of a year at USC, because it’s too late for him to go back. “If you fall short once or twice in a chapter in your life that’s not the way you planned — if you pout…if you sulk…it doesn’t get you anywhere and no one’s gonna feel sorry for you,” he said.

USC granted Browne a permission to contact form in November, which allowed him to transfer to another NCAA school. Three months later, he is now training with his new teammates at Pitt, looking to make a bigger difference there than he did at USC. Browne, who brought his high school team to their state championship three times and was one of the highest ranked in his recruiting class, backed up Cody Kessler for three years. Finally, when his chance came, he lost his job and had to move to Pittsburgh to start again. Even after all of that, he and Clay Helton still hold respect for each other.

“Max has been so good to us and so good to this football team and is a graduate, and that’s what’s most important,” Helton said in an ESPN article. “He’s graduated from this university, and he’s done everything right.”

Browne is looking to move forward and pursue his dream of playing in the NFL. What’s certain for him is that he will always miss his teammates. As captain, he practiced with them and became friends with them. He saw Deontay Burnette grow and watched him score three touchdowns and receive for 164 yards in the Rose Bowl.

“I’m going to miss the guys for sure because I grew so close to them. I’m rooting for them and that won’t change.”
With any other quarterback there would be a temptation to forget where he came from. For someone as mature and humble as Browne — even as he hopes to secure himself a spot in the NFL draft — there’s no forgetting.

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