Sports fans in Covington are familiar with Gabby and Autumn Glenn- a sister duo that were a part of the historical 2010 softball team that reached the Class AA title game and signed to play college ball for UT Martin in their respective senior year. Jordan (football) and Neely (softball) were their other siblings that attended Covington who excelled in sports, and, together, they created a well-known name in Tipton County.
To brag more, Gabby had her softball jersey retired from Covington.
The Glenn crew were the talk of the town in their era, but they had a younger brother named Brock that would finish his high school football career being the talk around the nation.
Brock, who plays quarterback, was the youngest with him and Neely- the sibling closet to his age- being seven years apart, but it was growing up in a sports family that aspired him to dream big and set his goals high.
He knew he wanted to play D-1 football at a young age, so he felt that he needed to be in a “better situation football-wise” and enrolled at Lausanne after his eighth-grade year. It was a tough decision to make as a thirteen-year-old having to leave all his friends at Crestview and missing out on a chance to play for a successful team that makes deep playoff runs each year, but, with guidance from the Lord, making this move was his best decision for his career.
“It was a hard one like you said, but I knew it would be worth it if I just kept my head down and worked and put my faith in the Lord, and it all worked out.” the senior said.
As a result, he earned a four-star rating in the class of 2023- according to 24/7 sports- that ranked him #8 in the state and #19 best quarterback in nation with over thirty Power Five offers including Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Pittsburgh, Kansas, and more.
While he made a name for himself, Brock had to change how he “operated” in order to attain the status he had now. The all-star player knew “building his brand” was very important, so he had to put 100% in his performance on and off the field.
“It’s something I had to adapt to.” Brock added.
It started with his training.
After practice, he will throw more reps to perfect his accuracy and fell in love with the weight room, being the only skill player that lifted with the lineman because it “builds chemistry” with the people who protect him. The results showed as he went from a freshman weighting a buck forty to 205 pounds.
His classroom work is not something to overlook as he finished high school with a 3.8 grade-point average.
“Just making sure I’m doing all the right things and checking all the right boxes and to build my brand in a sense.” He added.
The hard work paid off with Brock committing to Ohio State University- a team known for competing in the College Football Playoffs each year- before he flipped his decision to play for Mike Norvell, former head coach for Memphis, at Florida State University.
Brock is living a dream many small-town kids can only imagine, and being a high-level baller has lots of clout added to his name which could boost his head up, but he doesn’t let the fame get to him. He always told himself to “never get too high or get too low” and to always remain humble.
“Growing up, I just didn’t like cocky players, like if they were just cocky, I didn’t like them.” Brock said. He looked up to players who were confident in themselves like a Jalen Hurts.
“I like to go by a term ‘humbly confident’ because you have to have confidence on the field,” Brock stated, “but I not going to just flash myself around.”
He will join the new trend high school athletes been doing by gradated high school early and enroll in college in the spring to get an early jumpstart to college life.
There will be times that Brock wondered what life would’ve been like if he went to Covington High and played alongside his friends, but he knew business is business, and, in the end, everything worked out.
Author: David Perry
Writer
