Alex Brown, a senior at education in New Jersey, scored eight touchdowns in a single game just one day after his mother passed away. Brown said in an interview with ‘Fox & Friends’ Monday that he could feel his mother’s presence with him on the field as he led his team to victory.
Brown’s mother, Michelle, passed away Thursday after nearly 15 years of battling cancer” target=”_blank”>breast cancer<
“As soon as I stepped on that field, I could feel my mother’s presence with me,” he told co-hosts Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, and Brian Kilmeade.
“I looked into the crowd, and I could see my whole family behind me. I just knew I was ready to go.”
Brown remembers his mom as being kind and loving, and said he sees some of her traits in himself.
“My mom, she was a kind-hearted person. Extremely funny, very artistic, very beautiful. She was the most kind and loving person you’ll ever meet. She always wanted everyone else to be happy before she was happy, and I kind of got that from her.”
He said his mom, who grew up in Sweden and was unfamiliar with football, initially didn’t want him to play. But Brown believes the family and community he found in the sport inspired her to keep going in her fight against cancer.
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Brown’s moving athletic performance garnered praise from NFL star Tom Brady on Instagram, with the icon commenting, “Proud of you” on a SportsCenter post about Brown’s achievements during the game.
“It means the world to me,” Brown said. “He’s definitely my biggest idol in football. It doesn’t really get better than that.”
He credits his dad, his brother and his football community for being a helpful support system as he deals with the loss of his mother.
“I want to just thank everyone for being there for me,” he said. “We’ll get through this together because I know she’s still watching over me as I saw in the game.”
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Brown, who is slated to play football at Bucknell University in the fall of 2022, said watching his mom battle breast cancer pushed him to become the man he is today.
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“Watching her struggle with cancer for almost 15 years, it just made me a stronger person,” he said.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be as strong as she ever was.”
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
