Sometimes a name can be indicative of the kind of football player a kid is.
If that's the case with quarterback recruit Legend Brumbaugh, Tennessee-Martin football fans must be licking their chops right about now. This solid 3-star prospect–according to 247Sports' rating–did a tour of the country in the spring, visiting schools in the SEC and beyond. His Twitter feed is full of pictures with big-name head coaches at big-time schools.
In the end, Brumbaugh decided that he wanted to light things up immediately when he played Division I ball.
"I don't want to go to a college and sit around for three or four years before I play," Brumbaugh told HERO Sports. "And Coach (Jason) Simpson believes in me and knows I'm going to develop into a great quarterback … I'm going to try to help the coaches recruit the best players for them."
Coaching staffs can't comment on prospects, but one has to think Simpson and his staff are smiling over this addition. Assistant coach Mike Treier did a good job keeping tabs on Brumbaugh all along, and the relationship Simpson has had with Brumbaugh's father–former Auburn standout and current Kentucky assistant Jimmy Brumbaugh–obviously was also a key. Simpson and the elder Brumbaugh both coached together at Chattanooga.
The younger Brumbaugh said he truly enjoyed his trip to the UTM campus and definitely feels at home with the coaching staff. He looks forward to working directly with Simpson.
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So, one has to ask … how did the quarterback get his first name?
"My mom (Kelly) came up with it," Legend told HERO Sports. "Will Smith was on some TV show and he was deciding on what to name his son. Either Jaden or Legend. He chose Jaden, my mom chose Legend."
So what is Tennessee-Martin getting? Well for one, he plays for one of Florida's premier powerhouses under legendary head coach Verlon Dorminey. That's a very good start. This is the same high school Tim Tebow began his prep career at before moving over to Nease High School. Brumbaugh is a 6-foot-3, 190-pound left-hander who has passed for 877 yards and 9 TDs through 7 games this year, while rushing for another 104 with a score.
The national power plays a brutal schedule every year, falling to state power Cocoa in overtime early in the year and going 5-2 to this point. Last year, Brumbaugh played for Lexington Catholic in Kentucky.
Tennessee-Martin is off to a 4-3 record, with two losses to FBS opponents (Hawaii by three points and Cincinnati by 21). Last year, the Skyhawks were 7-4 but did not qualify for the FCS playoffs–and they haven't had a losing season since 2011.
