An ex-defensive back himself at the University of Houston, Conroe head coach Cedric Hardeman smiled when asked Wednesday about the Tigers continually churning out standouts in the secondary worthy of the next level.
Dorian Brew, one of the top 2025 recruits in the nation, was the latest one to exit the program with a big-time college offer signed.
Brew, a four-star recruit via 247Sports and the No. 49 overall recruit in the nation, confirmed his promise with the Oregon Ducks in a ceremony held on Early National Signing Day at The Pit gymnasium.
Brew, a 6-foot, 200-pound cornerback will be an early enrollee with the current No. 1 team in the nation.
“It’s a surreal moment and a dream since I was a freshman,” Brew said. “This is the end of my high school career, going into my next.”
Brew is rated the No. 6 cornerback in the country for the Class of 2025 and the No. 12 overall recruit in Texas. He joins an Oregon Ducks team – currently the only FBS school that’s undefeated – and its current No. 7 recruiting ranking (247Sports).
As Oregon prepares for Saturday’s Big 10 Championship against Penn State, Brew is looking forward to joining the Ducks and head coach Dan Lanning later this month on the practice field.
“He’s a great guy, I talk to him all the time,” Brew said of Lanning. “I talk to the staff all the time. They reach out to me, they reach out to my family. Everybody has been great and genuine.”
Dorian Brew has some major athletic bloodlines to offer to the Ducks.
His father Derrick Brew, on the coaching staff at Conroe and ran at Klein Forest, was a part of the gold medal 4X400 relay at the 2004 Olympic games in Athens. Brew, who sprinted collegiately at LSU, also earned a bronze medal that year in the 400-meter run.
Dorian’s mother Donica Merriman sprinted at Ohio State and is a member of the Buckeye athletic program’s hall of fame.
Dorian moved to Conroe from Ohio in the middle of his junior year and was embraced immediately.
“We knew about his talent,” Hardeman said. “His dad was our sprint coach here. We met him and we knew him. One of the things we were happy about is you’re getting a four-star, five-star kid into the building. His work ethic, his coachability and the way he adapted with the kids here from the beginning.”
Brew’s presence was known immediately.
“I moved mid-season last year from Ohio,” Brew said. “As soon as I got here, they embraced me. I played five games and finished off the year. This season, we were 9-3, so we had a pretty good season.”
Conroe, which has made the playoffs four straight seasons, allowed just 20.5 points per game this fall, statistically it’s best season since 2008 on that side of the ball. The Tigers won their first playoff game since 1999 when they beat Aldine Davis back on Nov. 15.
Brew was avoided often by the opposition. Not many balls thrown his way. Hardeman estimated that Brew had a couple interceptions and broke up around 15 passes for his senior year.
“You come in and you’re that five-star guy, you’re not going to get as much work,” Hardeman said. “I think he did a great job (not having the ball come his way). It was tough because you can go a whole half, you can go a whole two games, and nobody tests you. I think he was able to work on the things he needed to work on, even if the ball didn’t come his way.”
Conroe has had a plethora of defensive back talent in recent years. In the Class of 2024, Devondre McGee signed with TCU while Tice Williams signed with Texas State. New Mexico State’s Dakerric Hobbs recently announced his NFL Draft intentions. Isaiah Pruitt is a freshman at Incarnate Word.
Safety Marc Jones will sign at some point this winter and the future is bright with junior Xavier Harmon already claiming four major offers, including LSU.
“I’m an ex-defensive back and my son (Chris) played (defensive back),” Hardeman said. “That position has been a position where the head coach, the defensive coordinator (Patrick Resby, who played at Kansas) and a corners coach in (Ben) Wells who played at Texas – we were hard on them. But those guys have stepped up.”
Brew committed to Oregon back in June, settling his college choice before senior year began.
According to 247Sports, Brew had 26 college offers, including seven from Big 10 schools and six from the SEC.
“I loved my choices,” Brew said. “(Oregon’s) pitch for me every time I was there, every time they came down here was (that) I was the No. 1 priority for them. They have three guys leaving, so I have a good chance.”
Hardeman felt like Oregon is a good spot for Brew.
“It’s a great fit,” Hardeman said. “When he was going through the process, one thing I made sure to let him know that you work hard all this time to get into this position. Don’t make it stressful. Keep your perspective. He really didn’t have a wrong choice out of the choices that he had. He had to find a place that fits him. I’m happy he’s found a home.”
Conroe senior Dorian Brew made it official by signing with the Oregon Ducks on Dec. 4. (Rob Tate/SportCast Media)
