Brown was hampered a little during his senior season due to an ankle injury. But he still racked up 30 tackles, including one quarterback sack, plus he intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble. On offense, he carried the ball 75 times for 392 yards. He also scored eight touchdowns.

That generated interest from some colleges, but Logan wanted to play 35 miles up the road in Charleston.

“That’s where I’ve always wanted to play,” he noted. “When the opportunity was there, I couldn’t pass it up. Plus, I wanted to stay close to home so I could be near my 2-month-old son Maveryck.”

Logan credits Effingham coach Brett Hefner for helping prepare him for the next level.

“The coaches at Eastern are like Coach Hefner – hard and tough,” Logan said. “It’s going to be a mere image of how I was coached in high school. The coaches have told me flat out how things are going to be. They preach hard work. I know it won’t be easy, but this is where I always wanted to go.”

Brown is impressed with EIU coach Adam Cushing, who is entering his second year. The Panthers were 1-11 a year ago, but Logan believes the program is ready to turn around.

“They’ve got some really good players coming back, plus they’re bringing in quite a few good recruits,” Logan explained. “I think all the pieces are there. We just need to put it all together.”

Logan plans to major in Criminal Justice with a career goal of being a state police officer.