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56 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED to do to be in any national conversa- tion right now. "We win some games and people will start looking at us," Brown said. But until then, the "Tampa Two" says they'll use such talk as motivation. "Definitely," said Brown, whose 22 career starts are second defensively to Williams' 27. "Because nobody is checking for us now, but by the end of the season, they will be checking for us. But we already knew this from the jump, we've felt like we're one of the best. We can show you better than we can tell you." They're working hard to get there. When Brown first arrived on campus, Williams, who had spent his first season redshirting, realized he was going to have to step up a notch if he was to match his younger team- mate's intensity. Now, they're constantly pushing back and forth, trying to get each oth- er better. That extends to the weight room, conditioning, wind sprints, whatever. That's made its way into their lives away from the football facility, too: Who is a better three-point shooter? Who's the best at Madden? It's brought them closer. "I gained a brother through Pur- due," Brown said. The relationship has manifested positively on the field. Against Mich- igan State last season, Brown noticed a formation tendency by the Spar- tans, something he had picked up in film study. (The two are intense film watchers, having spent this offseason together reviewing every defensive play from 2014). From his cornerback position, Brown yelled out "sprint out, sprint out, sprint out," a communica- tion that Williams heard as he moved to cover a motioning receiver. "It didn't hit me until they hiked," Williams said of the Spartans. "I looked in the backfield and thought 'sprint out.' I reacted to the hitch and it was an interception." The duo hopes for more. If the Boil- ermakers are to be at their best, then Williams and Brown will need to lead the way. "(AB) is doing everything in his power to be his best — and me too — and to help us win," Williams said. "In our eyes, if we want to win 10-plus games this season and do what we want to do, we've got to be on our A game every game." j