Cards' Jamon Brown slims down for Sr. season

It's not difficult to imagine Jamon Brown sitting in one of the metal chairs at Burger Boy, plowing through an all-meat omelet or four pancakes, two eggs and home fries — his go-to items on the diner's menu.

The University of Louisville offensive tackle, who stands 6-foot-6 and 325 pounds, describes the meals in such detail that he can't help but giggle.

"Oh, my god, I love it. I could eat breakfast any time of the day," he said.

But these days the breakfast platters that make his heart patter aren't so common in his diet. The Fern Creek High School product has lost 20 pounds this offseason, and he's working toward dropping another five.

He's not about to break down now — not after all the sacrifices he has made with his diet.

"OK, let's be honest. Of course I love food. I mean look at me," he said, standing back to give a fuller view. "I got this big because I love food.

"This was something I had to do."

Brown, one of the three linemen who started every game for U of L last season, wants to play professional football. His track record is good enough to get him there.

He earned all-conference honors last season blocking for first-round draft pick Teddy Bridgewater, and he was regularly called one of U of L's star players in this year's preseason college football magazines.

The only thing separating him from a big senior campaign and a potential NFL career was about 28 pounds.

U of L's new coaching staff, headed by Bobby Petrino, weighed Brown at 348 pounds when they arrived on campus in January.

They told Brown that 320 pounds was the best playing weight for the quick-to-laugh senior who studies justice administration.

That weight wasn't just a shot in the dark, either. Louisville bought a BodPod machine this offseason to test players' body composition, which helped them determine what each player's physical goals should be.

"We felt like for him to play four quarters at the highest level, we head to get his weight down," Petrino said in July. "That took a real commitment on his part."

So Brown went about changing his life.

Instead of Gatorade at 10:30 p.m., he chose flavored water or zero-calorie drinks.

Instead of the portions he was eating — "I can eat a lot," he said, laughing again — he paid closer attention to how much food was on his plate.

"It wasn't, you know, not eating or starving myself or anything like that," Brown explained. "It was just getting into a routine."

To say there were no potholes along the way would be a lie, and Brown's pretty straightforward about the topic at hand.

His cheat days took him back to Burger Boy, a nondescript, one-counter diner on the corner of Brook and Burnett just north of campus. U of L flags and posters cover the diner's interior walls, and the staffers working on Thursday afternoon grinned at the news that their shop was a football player's favorite.

"We have a lot of athletes come in here — Russ Smith, Peyton Siva, football guys," said manager Sara Barger.

Barger thumbed a Burger Boy menu, a trifold, red guide to burger combos and munchies and salads and soups.

Just inside the cover, with its "If you're up, we're open!" motto, stands the mother lode: Breakfast served 24/7 and omelets made to order.

Cheat day paradise.

"I would rather cheat on breakfast," Brown said. "It's early in the morning and it gives me a full day to work it off."

He's not cheating much at all these days, and Brown has noticed the difference. Losing the final five pounds? Piece of pancake.

"It was me putting selfish things aside," Brown said. "I feel a lot better, and I'm grateful for having the coaches push me to get there."

Reach Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_CJ).

Keep up with all the happenings as Louisville opens the 2014 season in their fall camp at courier-journal.com/sports.