From non-scholarship player to legitimate 2025 NFL Draft Prospect, Virginia's Brian Stevens has continued to defy the odds
The transfer portal is a highly debated topic for some fans, loathing the constant turnover and “commitment” to their current squad. It has a ton of benefits, including offering a second chance to players for a variety of reasons such as coaches leaving, injuries, or lack of opportunity. It’s a fresh start of sorts. For […]
The transfer portal is a highly debated topic for some fans, loathing the constant turnover and “commitment” to their current squad. It has a ton of benefits, including offering a second chance to players for a variety of reasons such as coaches leaving, injuries, or lack of opportunity. It’s a fresh start of sorts.
For others, the portal has offered attention and notoriety for some late bloomers. With that, some players are able to unlock their further upside with increased strength and nutrition programs. The latter is true for Virginia offensive lineman Brian Stevens, who has seen a tremendous rise from non-scholarship football player who almost bypassed playing college football, to one of the best centers in all of college football.
Stevens was ravaged by injuries coming out of Milford, limiting his options. It created a long road with a myriad of challenges, but it has taken him here.
“Out of high school, I kind of had a few injuries during my junior year that probably delayed me in my recruiting process,” Stevens said on The First Team NFL Draft and College Football Podcast. “That's the tape you get heavily evaluated on. I played linebacker all the way up until my sophomore year and made the transition to offensive and defensive line. So I kind of played both ways there. It was interesting to see what teams wanted me for offense or defense.”
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There were some opportunities on the table, which included the University of Dayton. For those who remember tight end Adam Trautman as a draft prospect, who was a third round selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, he also played for the Flyers. Among the limited options, Dayton was ultimately the destination for Stevens in the end, providing him the comfort was looking for.
“Morehead State was one of my first offers going into that summer of senior year,” Stevens explained. “Funny enough, my offensive line coach at the time had gone to Northwestern. He knew Zach Strief from the New Orleans Saints, who also went to Milford. I had been going to his camp since I was a little kid. There was a solid understanding for how to play the offensive line.
“At the time, I wasn’t sure if I was going to play football,” he continued. “I was just going to just go to school. We had a snow day in February and I had the offer from Dayton. They just felt like home and made the decision, and obviously it has worked out.”
During his four years with the Dayton program, Stevens had starts at both offensive tackle and inside at guard. Not only was he a two-time All-Pioneer Football League selection but Stevens was also selected a team captain for the 2022 season.
It wasn’t an easy decision but Stevens opted to enter the transfer portal prior to the 2023 season. This time around, there was loads of interest in the Ohio native. The University of Virginia was his ultimate destination, presenting Stevens the chance to become a scholarship athlete and compete in the ACC.
“I think it comes a lot with being an older guy, playing in some environments,” he explained. “I hadn't played in front of 70,000 people before. I'd probably played in front of 20,00 people a couple of times.”
Heading down to Charlottesville wasn’t the only transition for Stevens on this next chapter. After starting a couple of games at guard to begin the season, he received the call about a position switch. That move could end up being a blessing for Stevens, who has seen his game and physique blossom since coming to Virginia.
“I probably wasn't the biggest kid coming into college,” said Stevens. “I was probably about 235 to 240 pounds. The biggest struggle was trying to put on weight. I'm about 300 pounds now, but I probably didn't play close to that when I was at Dayton.
“I just wanted to help the team,” he said of the tradition to center. “When my coach called me up, it was week three after the James Madison game, and said, Hey, we're gonna try to make a switch and move you to center. So I play two games there and then transition to center in week three versus Maryland. I'd always done the center-quarterback exchange my four years at Dayton so I was kind of our emergency guy.”
Down the stretch of the 2023 season, there may not have been a better center in all of college football. He now heads into 2024 with a chance to be the best in the country. He has also been garnering attention from the NFL as a potential 2025 NFL Draft prospect.
While Stevens is excited about that possibility, he remains focused on the task at hand.
“I'm grateful for it all,” Stevens explained. “I wouldn't give up my Dayton experience for anything. Those relationships I built there, I was just up there yesterday, just saying hi to the coaching staff and some of the guys that are still hanging around. It’s awesome to be able to look back and see how things fell into place for me. This was how it was and this I think was how it was supposed to go. I’m grateful but I'm still hungry. I have a lot more to prove.”
As a 2025 NFL Draft prospect
In what appears to be a slightly below average center class in 2025, Stevens has a chance to be a substantial riser. There has largely been no hype on him, which is a bit of a head scratcher. Stevens was, for a time anyway, one of the best kept secrets among the NFL Draft community.
At over 6-2 and just north of 300 pounds, Stevens has solid but unspectacular size for a center on the next level. Despite that lack of size, Stevens makes up for it big time with his tremendous movement skills. He is a smooth athlete with tremendous lateral mobility. This allows him to make a ton of plays when creating movement.
Stevens also plays with great pad level, consistently establishing leverage in the run game. His feet move constantly on contact, displaying good displacement power. There is scheme versatility that he brings to the table.
Due to the lack of size and injury history, it’s unclear just how high Stevens can go come April. If it’s just based on talent, we are talking about a future starter on the NFL level. Stevens was a perfect example of someone who bet on themselves, multiple times, and it has continued to pay off tremendously.
