Jesse Brown moves from football field to arena dirt

With the exception of missing out on additional mind-altering sound bites from coach Mike Leach, former Washington State quarterback Jesse Brown figures he made the right decision to quit football and embark on a pro rodeo career.

The soon-to-be steer wrestler was a preferred walk-on at WSU, where he spent two years trying to follow in the footsteps of noteworthy Cougars field generals such as Jack Thompson — aka “The Throwin’ Samoan” — Drew Bledsoe, Mark Rypien and Gardner Minshew, last year’s Raiders starting QB.

Brown failed to get into a game in his two seasons — mostly because he played behind Connor Halliday, who set an NCAA record by passing for 734 yards in a loss to California.

But Brown said listening to Leach’s streams of consciousness made his college football experience more than memorable.

“What you see is what you got,” Brown said of Leach, whose colorful eccentricities made him so popular with the media and his players, before his passing in 2022 at age 61 of complications from a heart condition.

For instance, in lieu of talking about halftime adjustments during a Halloween weekend game, Leach would instead riff on taste “treats” associated with other holidays and iconic events.

“There’s a reason they only serve fruitcake once a year, because it’s awful,” he famously said. “There’s a reason they only serve mint juleps once a year, because they’re awful. And there’s a reason they only serve candy corn once a year, because it’s awful.”

In another memorable take about who would win a battle royal featuring the mascots of the former Pac-12, Leach said: “We would need to consider what kind of mythical powers a Sun Devil possesses … and does the Ute have a bow and arrow, or did he trade he trade them for a rifle?”

Said Brown: “He was a different guy, but it was an (unforgettable) experience. Mike Leach, rest in peace.”

Instant success

Not long after Brown threw the winning touchdown and 2-point conversion passes in the 2013 Washington State spring game, he transferred to Montana State, where he began to bulldog.

After being tutored by five-time NFR qualifier and family friend Butch Knowles, Brown turned pro and was named the 2017 steer wrestling Rookie of the Year.

Knowles said Brown was a quick learner and became the antithesis of candy corn on Halloween.

“He said, ‘I want to learn how to bulldog.’ I thought maybe we had a month, two months, to get the basics (covered),” Knowles told The Cowboy Channel about his understudy.

“I said, ‘When are you up?’ And he said, ‘Next Friday.’”

So Knowles, a 2023 ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee, had to work fast.

Brown is smaller than most steer wrestlers, who traditionally are built like linebackers and offensive tackles.

But Knowles said the agility Brown displayed on the football field at Washington State — and the basketball court and baseball diamond at Baker High School in his hometown of Baker City, Oregon — made for a smooth transition to the rodeo arena.

“He was so athletic, he had the body control,” Knowles said. “He went to the rodeo that weekend, and I don’t remember exactly what he did, but I’m pretty sure he placed or maybe even won it right off the bat.”

Eye on the title

Unlike his two years as a Washington State quarterback, the success Brown experienced in the rodeo arena was anything but fleeting.

All six of his seasons since turning pro have concluded with an appearance in the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

In 2022, Brown finished a career-high fifth in the season-long world standings.

Brown is coming off a 2024 season in which he finished sixth, with $258,553 in winnings. A good chunk of that came after a strong week in Las Vegas that saw him place in five of the 10 rounds, twice pocketing first-place money.

This year, a no time in Round 3 Saturday night set Brown back in the average, which pays $94,036 to win. But he placed in four of the first six performances to remain a competitive fourth in season earnings.

In Tuesday’s sixth go-round, he took third in 4.3 seconds to pocket $21,882, his biggest check of the week. That gave him $220,061 for the season.

Brown’s goal is to join the legendary Larry Mahan and Doug Brown on the short list of world champions from Oregon.

“It’s 10 nights long and there’s a lot of stuff going on — I mean, there’s cameras everywhere, pressure, money and everything else,” Brown said of competing for a gold buckle in Las Vegas.

“It’s way different than anything we do all year, which makes it exciting.”

Brown said wrestling steers at the NFR — and perhaps having a chance one day to compete for a world title — was something he dreamed about since putting his maroon football jersey in mothballs while in college.

“Honestly, I hope it comes down to Round 10, and there’s about four guys in the hunt, and you’ve gotta go about 3.8 (seconds) to win the world,” he said.

A scenario like that would help Jesse Brown overcome the taste of candy corn on Halloween, regardless of what weapon the Utah Ute is packing.