Equanimeous St. Brown Moves From Shadows To Spotlight

“Straight Outta Anaheim.”

Okay. It doesn’t quite invoke the same response as the famous N.W.A. song, or the subsequent movie released last year, even though a Google Maps search estimates a trip from Anaheim to Compton at roughly 30 minutes.

And that’s why Notre Dame wide receiver Equinameous St. Brown’s father, John Brown — a Compton native — took his son across Los Angeles from Anaheim to Compton to play some during his prep days.

“He didn’t want me to grow up in that neighborhood, but he felt like it was necessary for me to be around there a couple of times to see what it’s like,” St. Brown said. “And how people I’m going to be playing against, what their mindset is like and what I needed to get mine like.”

Sounds like a pretty intense training idea. Looking back on it now, more than a year into life in South Bend, the Irish sophomore gives those experiences a large thumbs up.

“It was definitely helpful,” St. Brown said. “People in that kind of environment are more hungry than other kids.

“It’s not every case, but some. So going to camps, playing in games, etc., that mindset really stands out and helps you.”

Learning that tenacity also could pay off in training and conditioning. During a practice in mid-November, St. Brown suffered a sprained shoulder injury that required surgery and significant time to heal.

No lingering ill effects from that this spring, he noted.

“I’m full go,” St. Brown said. “I started feeling better around three weeks after winter break.

“Anyone getting hurt or injured, no one wants to live through that. But things happen. You just have to bounce back.”

In his rookie year at Notre Dame, the former four-star recruit didn’t record a start. But he did see some time at special teams, including blocking a punt against USC that was recovered for an Irish touchdown by Amir Carlisle.

“I didn’t play as much as I would have liked to,” St. Brown said. “But playing and making a difference for a team, I liked that a lot.”

With former Irish standout Will Fuller off to the NFL, now it’s St. Brown’s time to shine. He sat behind Fuller at the X last year — head coach Brian Kelly had said he wanted to get St. Brown on the field, but just couldn’t bring himself to take Fuller out — and now the sophomore looks to inherit the position this season.

So far this spring, he’s also taken reps at the W.

“It’s spring ball, so we’re trying new positions,” St. Brown said. “Everyone is moving around. Just seeing who fits where best, and what’s best for the team.”

The two positions have some differences. St. Brown said he thinks he’s “probably” better at X, and likes the routes there better. Although, he adds W has nice routes, too.

“I like both positions,” the receiver said. “W is a little harder for blocking, but they’re both great positions.

“Blocking and route running is what I need to work on. And just getting used to pads because I’ve been hurt for a while.

“I know the X a lot because that’s what I played last season, so now I’m just trying to learn the W.”

Whichever side of the field he ends up on, Irish opponents will see a lot of St. Brown this year. Just ask wide receivers coach Mike Denbrock.

“EQ is doing some fantastic things,” Denbrock said. “The first couple of days we put him on the boundary as our W, he was a bit awkward there.

“I don’t think he really felt comfortable; he was used to free-wheeling it out to the field. Now that he’s done it for a couple of days, you can tell he’s wrapped his brain around understanding some of the things that we already addressed. Like creating space for himself, those types of things.

“He’s getting more comfortable there. I don’t know if he’ll end up there, but it’s good that he has to play there this spring just for his own development.”