First of all, I cringe when TV and national media writers refer to him as “Knoxville native.” Brock grew up in Cookeville and was a very good soccer player before taking up football. He and his family were actually neighbors of mine for a while. I remember one evening I was out for my daily walk, and saw his mom and one of his sisters out walking their dogs. Brock’s mom told me that he had decided to go out for football and become the kicker. She wasn’t sure how to feel about this because “he’s so tiny,” but she hoped he wouldn’t get hurt. I think about that encounter all these years later and now Brock is playing in the SEC, has the school record 57 yard FG, and is 2nd team All-SEC.
