2 former BYU greats combine to bring 4-star McKay Madsen to Provo

PROVO — In order to acquire the best, you often have to enlist the best, which is exactly what BYU was afforded in securing the commitment of four-star prospect McKay Madsen.

Madsen is a 6-foot-1, 230-pound running back and linebacker from Clovis, California, who made his commitment to sign with the Cougars during halftime of the Navy All-American Bowl recently. He chose BYU over a bevy of quality offers, which included finalists Oregon and UCLA, surprising several national pundits who predicted Madsen would ink with the Ducks.

Watching all of it unfold with great attention was another Clovis resident, former BYU running back Curtis Brown, who experienced a poignant reaction upon seeing Madsen place BYU's hat upon his head.

"I cried for like 45 minutes when he committed to BYU because it was emotional," Brown said in an interview on ESPN 960.

Brown recently moved to Clovis from Provo with his family where he works as a sales representative. He came to know Madsen a little thereafter and immediately became impressed with the top prospect's unique brand of athleticism and his character.

"As I built a relationship with him, I looked out for him like I would my son," Brown said. "He's going to be an example to my sons. I want my kids to look up to him as the gold standard in regard to Clovis. Our boys need those local heroes."

Brown, himself, serves as a prime example of working to forge a great deal of success — both at BYU, as a player, and then as a husband and father. Cougars fans remember Brown as one of the most prolific running backs in the program's history with his 3,218 career yards gained, a mark which was a program record when he played out his eligibility in 2006.

Since then, Brown has watched BYU's football program from afar, cheering for its success while mindful of helping attract top athletes, like Madsen, in order to enhance the Cougar's success.

A strong first impression

For Brown, he'll never forget the first time he laid eyes on Madsen live. He recalled watching Madsen run for a 65-yard touchdown out of a wildcat formation on his team's very first play from scrimmage and immediately followed it up with another long touchdown run on his very next touch.

"He lights up the running back and then he goes and scores again. Dude is a freak," Brown said. "Literally, after watching him play and being able to connect with him after the game ... I was like, 'I've never seen anything like what I just saw in a high school game.' The dude is special."

Brown admitted to being skeptical of his own initial impression; but the more he judged for himself, the more he became convinced of Madsen's tremendous ability and upside.

"He's patient. He's a white running back (and) you don't see very many of those in college football," Brown said. "You see guys like that and it blows you away. You wouldn't think he'd be as explosive as he'd be just looking at him. It's probably how Toby Gerhart was out of Stanford. I saw a guy that was just turning heads. He never came off the field, not one play on defense. I could show you a highlight film but it wouldn't do it justice. You realize at critical moments this dude is a game-changer."

Handing off to another Cougar great

Brown almost immediately decided to reach out to BYU running backs coach Harvey Unga, the same former BYU running back who broke Brown's record in 2009 when he left the Cougars' program with 3,455 yards. While Unga and BYU's staff knew of Madsen, they had him pegged as a linebacker prospect. Brown strongly urged Unga to consider him for running back.

BYU also had yet to offer Madsen, while other top programs, such as Oregon, had done as much and put the Cougars in a tough catch-up sort of position. Madsen, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has many family members who have both attended or are currently attending BYU, and grew a bit anxious over the program's inaction in offering him a scholarship.

"I'm a bit stubborn about it. I was kind of angry (because I hadn't gotten that offer earlier)," Madsen said in an interview on ESPNTheFan.

But Unga went to work on acquiring Madsen's services soon after and eventually did enough to secure the commitment.

"BYU needs to be grateful for Harvey Unga. He wasn't too pushy. He was genuine," Brown said.

Of course, Unga wasn't left to his own devices in securing Madsen's commitment, with several other factors combining to ultimately win him over.

"No. 1, BYU having success in the Big 12 was critical. It would have been very easy for him to justify going to Oregon had this been a year ago when BYU finished 5-7," Brown said. "(BYU then) did a heck of a job when he came in for his recruiting trip. ... The experience was like no other. For him, he knows he's going on a mission. He's in a city where maybe 10% of his friends are LDS. Then he's in a stadium where 55,000 are LDS. He's like, 'Wow I'm not a minority.'"

As for Madsen, he confirmed Brown's assessment.

"What they have to offer is unlike anything else overall," Madsen said. "Knowing that they're a D1 program and they're pretty dang good. Kind of putting my pride away, they shot up the list. After building those relationships, it was kind of a no-brainer. Why wouldn't I consider going to that school?"

"It was so much," Madsen added. "If you asked me after my Oregon visit, I probably would have told you I was going there. I could imagine myself at each place. This last week I was kind of on my own. So much thought and prayer has gone into this. My heart started moving in that direction (of BYU). It was more of a feel. It was a feeling of where I was supposed to be."

Madsen has plans to serve a two-year mission prior to enrolling at BYU, and said when he gets home he'll work ardently at whatever position BYU needs him to play.

"I'm a football player," Madsen said. "I love running the ball; (although) I'm not your typical running back. I've heard it everywhere," Madsen said. "Also, I'd love to be a linebacker for BYU. Seeing who they've produced and put in the NFL. Thinking realistically, that probably won't help. I would be down to be both. Coach (Kalani) Sitake sees me as a big running back."

Regardless where he plays, the four-star talent can make an immediate impact when he returns from his mission. There's good reason to believe that impact will be significant.

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