Australian Exchange Student Brent Le Roux has One Year to make it Count

Written by Ryan Wright

Australian exchange student Brent Le Roux has a shared dream with thousands of his American peers, a Division-I football scholarship. On paper the odds are not stacked in Brent Le Roux’s favor but the reality is he has a couple of advantages most high school football players do not have, gifted size and strength along with the opportunity to suit up for St. John Bosco.

For those of you unfamiliar with California high school football, St. John Bosco is a national powerhouse team two seasons removed from winning a national title. Top Division-I talent matriculates from the Bellflower school to Power 5 Conference programs year after year. Be it good fortune or a lot of research, landing at Bosco is a stroke of luck giving Le Roux a leg up on his American counterparts.

Le Roux’s 6’5”, 242 pound, frame allows him to pass the immediate eyeball test. Finding out that this 17-year-old power cleans over 300 pounds, has a bench press max around 330 pounds, and squats in the neighborhood of 450 gives credibility to him holding his own on the field. Knowing that he has taken his lumps on the rugby fields back home in Brisbane adds to the toughness integrity of his game.

Bosco is tinkering with Le Roux along the defensive front giving him a crash course test on needed technique to be more than just a powerful guy throwing linemen and running backs around on the field while hunting down quarterbacks.

By virtue of being at Bosco over 50 D-I teams have already seen him in action during the Braves’ spring showcase. Interest is already mounting in what could be a spectacular one-and-done senior campaign for Le Roux before taking off for college football glory.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview I sat down with the recruit who is truly under the radar to find out how he ended up at St. John Bosco and what he has done in the offseason to prepare himself to play for one of the nation’s best high school football programs.

Interview
Brent, what brought you to the U.S.?

“Just the opportunity to play football and finish high school over here.”

What excited you about American football while growing up in Australia?

“I used to watch the game with my dad. Watching the game, seeing how big and how athletic they were. I thought the game was very cool.”

What type of American football were you watching, college or NFL?

“I was watching everything, college, NFL, and Canadian League.”

What were some of your favorite teams growing up?

“I’ve always been a Colts fan, ever since I was really little. I liked them back when it was Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison.”

I know there is rugby, but other than rugby is there anything in Australia that is on a similar level as American football there?

“Nothing other than rugby really comes close. They play a little bit of American football but it’s not competitive.”

How did the dream of playing football in America come about? What was the build up to the point where the idea was put into action?

“I had multiple surgeries from the age of 15 to about 17. I was kind of wondering what I’m doing with myself when I finish school. I didn’t want to play rugby anymore. I always wanted to play American football and I told my family. I based it on what football can do for me, ultimately getting to college and getting a free education. So we weighed all of those facts and we thought it would be the best thing for me.”

What surgeries did you undergo and why?

“Medically, I had two torn shoulder labrums, both shoulders have had surgeries. I had a lesion in my elbow. It broke away one day, so the doctors had to go in there and clear all of that up. I broke both my legs playing rugby, one of those required surgery too.”

I get why you didn’t want to play rugby anymore after all of that. Just to be clear, did all of these injuries come from playing rugby?

“Yeah, all during games and practices.”

Once you get a helmet and shoulder pads American football might be a walk in the park for you coming over from rugby.

“I wouldn’t say that to be honest. When I was a kid I was playing on a different level. The kids were huge and athletic. I think this will be just as tough.”

You have the frame coming in at 6’5”, 242 pounds, but where are you with your physical strength? Are you a naturally strong guy or are you a weight room beast?

“I’d like to call myself one. I power cleaned 300 pounds the other day. We put the video on Twitter by our strength and conditioning coach.”

Where are you at with your bench press and squat?

“We’re maxing out on bench and squat this week.”

Do you have a rough idea around where you will be with both?

“I should be around 320-330 with my bench. With my squat, anything above 450. Power clean, I’m actually trying to hit 315 and then with my incline maybe 290.”

What about your speed? Football is more speed and quickness in short bursts where rugby requires speed but it is far more endurance running similar to soccer.

“My first 40 was a 5-flat. It’s not that good but I’m really trying to improve on that. The first time I ran my shuttle I ran a 4.3.”

Let’s kind of backtrack a little bit. You have the dream and your parents are supportive, what brought you to St. John Bosco in the Los Angeles area?

“Basically that came about, me and my family were discussing where I wanted to go. It was California, Florida, or Texas. I applied at a bunch of schools in each of those states. None of the Texas schools came back to me. One or two of the Florida schools got back in touch with me but a lot of California schools responded. St. John Bosco replied the same day. They were so quick and so helpful and they were Ranked No. 1 on Max-Preps nationally. I couldn’t turn that down.”

Before you took off for St. John Bosco had you ever been to the U.S.?

“No. This was my first time.”

What are your impressions of the U.S. and LA area now that you’ve been here seven months going on eight?

“It’s great. I really like it here and want to stay if I can. There are so many opportunities out here. You can do anything you want.”

Going into the 2015 season what are you goals on the football field?

“My goal is to get that college scholarship. I also want to do the very best I can for my team. We’ve set really high goals and I want to be part of helping the team achieve those goals.”

How have the coaches used you going through different drills so far? Since you haven’t put the pads on yet are they kind of doing a wait and see approach with you?

“That one is kind of hard to answer because right now we haven’t really done that much. When we take reps in practice it is kind of mixed. More often than not it is first and second string reps.”

How are you acclimating to the game now that you are actually playing it and learning the various aspects of the game?

“It was hard getting used to it in the beginning. There are so many technical aspects that you don’t pickup on. I think I’m getting it. The coaches are playing around with me trying me at different alignments on the D-line, things like that. I’m having a lot of fun with it. I really feel my technique has come a long way since I started.”

What have you been doing in the offseason to prepare for your senior year other than weightlifting and focusing on your technique?

“The team as a whole has put in a lot of work. Seriously, this is the hardest I’ve ever worked in my whole life. We’ve done a whole bunch of weight lifting, speed work, and a lot of conditioning. This spring and summer we’ve done a lot of work on the technical aspects. We’ve been working really hard as a team.”

You said one of your goals is to get a football scholarship. With that in mind, did you go to any college camps this summer?

“No.”

Just being at St. John Bosco can help with recruiting. Have you started getting interest already even though you’ve not put the pads on yet?

“There have been a few. I got really excited because USC showed a little bit of interest. They came to our college showcase day. I think we had over 50 D-I schools there. Another one is UNLV and Vanderbilt. They showed a little bit of interest. UTEP, Washington State, Oregon, and a few other schools like Utah State. That’s all I can think of right now.”

You’ll have some time to figure out the little differences between all of the American schools, but on an even level what will be some of the factors you will consider in choosing a college?

“I’m going to sit down with the coaches. I think it will take a lot of time to make that decision, but obviously the whole reason you’re picking a school is for an education. What school is going to give me that so when I am out in the real world getting a job will be a lot easier. I’d pick a school that I can play at especially with the little experience that I have. I don’t want to sit on the bench for four seasons. You want to pick the best football school you can but education is important along with playing time. The school has to have that right feeling as well. A lot of my friends tell me when they speak to coaches and visit the school they can feel it when they are there. I haven’t experienced that yet but hopefully I will.”

Being in the LA area have you had a chance to take an unofficial visit to UCLA or USC yet?

“Yeah, I took an unofficial visit to USC. I met with the D-line coach (Chris Wilson) for one of their spring practices. That was a really cool experience. It was in the Coliseum.”

What all did you do during that visit?

“We stayed with the D-line guys and watched the intensity of their practice. It motivated us. They took my height and weight and talked to me for a little bit. It was a really cool experience.”

So far, and this is kind of a silly question but then again it’s not, but what is your favorite part of playing football?

“The physicality right now. When we get pads on and start hitting, I’ll enjoy it more. Right now I’m enjoying lining up against offensive linemen and going at it with them. It’s a lot of fun.”

Photo credit: maxpreps.com; former St. John Bosco offensive lineman Damien Mama (USC) leads the Braves onto the field.