By MIKE FINGER AUSTIN BUREAU-Houston Chronicle

AUSTIN — If Mack Brown had spent some time with Oneta Taylor, he would have known better.

If he had seen what happened when a 4-month-old grandson ended up on her doorstep, and how she raised him just like she raised 10 kids of her own even though she was, to use her word, “crippled,” Brown wouldn't have had any doubts.

But the coach of the Texas Longhorns didn't know any of this when he met Curtis Brown. All the coach saw was a bashful teenager who never talked, who didn't exude bravado like the kids he usually recruited, and who gave outsiders no inkling of the inner strength his feeble grandmother had instilled in him.

“I discouraged him from coming here,” Mack Brown said. “He was so shy, and I didn't feel like he had a tremendous amount of confidence. And this is a place where you need to have confidence, or it will eat you up.”
A grander stage

At a nursing home in Longview, Taylor laughs when she hears that story. She stayed up late Saturday to watch Curtis Brown return the first interception of his career 77 yards for a touchdown against Oklahoma State on TV, and she said she saw such a moment coming. Others looked at her grandson and saw a lack of self-esteem. But Taylor knew he just needed the right stage.

“He used to put shows on for me,” Taylor said. “He would walk on his hands and do flips. He'd flip over and over just like a stick of wood.”

Exactly why Brown ended up with his grandmother is a subject neither he nor Taylor likes to discuss. All that matters, Brown said, is “I wanted for nothing” and “I had enough love.”

He played wide receiver in high school in the East Texas town of Gilmer, but all it took was one look for UT assistant Duane Akina to realize Brown had all the makings of an elite cornerback. Strong, agile and faster than almost everyone on the team, Brown has so many physical gifts that Akina calls him “as good of an athlete as (he's) ever coached.”

But his transition to defense didn't go smoothly. Having no idea how to line up, Brown's awkward stance and technique drew laughs from teammates as a freshman. Even heading into his junior season this year, it was unclear whether he'd catch on.

Then everything came together. Three years of drills sank in, and he started to look not only like a starter, but like one of the best shutdown cornerbacks in the country. And that shy, reserved exterior? It's crumbled, too.

“He's not a trash talker,” safety Earl Thomas said. “But he's finally got his swagger. Once he gets to know you, he won't be quiet.”

Cat-like skills

Defensive end Sergio Kindle said Brown is “faster than a cheetah,” and teammates have taken to calling him “The Cat,” not only for his quickness, but for his knack of always landing on his feet.

Brown gets a kick out of that nickname, because what the other UT players don't know is how well the moniker fits. As a child in Taylor's house, he was surrounded by cats. Inside and outside, there were as many as 20, and he had names for all of them.

“We called one Miss Lady.” Taylor said. “Miss Lady was proud. She had a gold chain around her neck.”

Brown was never as showy with his pride, but it is there.

Taylor made sure of it.

Im surprised they didnt mention he can jump as high as a cat too!!...Its good to see Curtis finally in the zone and doing well....

The kid is really getting things done at the U of T. Extremely proud of him. He will get the start for sure against UCF