La Salle’s Andrew Brennan eats up challenges and ‘put the work in’ to become a starting center

If refrigerators could talk, just imagine the stories one in Bucks County could tell.

Before La Salle College High School senior offensive lineman Andrew Brennan became the center of the Explorers’ high-powered offense, he was just an undersized freshman looking for a way to get on the field.

On Saturday at 1 p.m., Brennan will lead La Salle at Wissahickon High School against Roman Catholic, which is undefeated in Catholic League play.

The Explorers (4-3, 1-1) are led by sophomore quarterback Gavin Sidwar, who has passed for 1,672 yards and 19 touchdowns, while the Cahillites (6-1, 3-0) are led by Semaj Beals, the sophomore QB with 1,974 yards and 20 scores in the air.

Brennan grew up playing middle linebacker in Reading and then dabbled at right tackle as a freshman at La Salle after his mother, Therese, got a new job that moved the family to Jamison.

In preparation for his sophomore season, Brennan says he bet on himself when he learned the Explorers might have a need at center.

Yet, he also knew his 200-pound frame would need reinforcements. So, he mounted an all-out offensive in the kitchen.

“I ate like a menace,” Brennan said after a recent practice.

Determination, sacrifice, and hard work seem to be the tools the Ivy League candidate has used to earn success in the classroom and as La Salle’s student-body president.

A fork and knife were among the tools that helped on the field and then later on the wrestling mat.

“I actually think it’s one of the hardest things to do,” Brennan said of gaining weight.

“I was force-feeding myself because I was so determined. I didn’t know what the future was going to be like. I’ve always played and I didn’t want to sit on the sidelines for years.”

In order to put on weight, Brennan planned frequent refrigerator raids.

Let’s call it “Operation Jason Kelce” since the goal was for Brennan — who describes himself as a rabid Eagles fan — to play center just like Kelce, one of his favorite players.

If the continuous kitchen campaigns left his fridge shaking in its drawers, it wasn’t exactly pleasant for Brennan either.

“I just ate constantly,” he said. “I would have dinner and then I would have a dinner after my dinner.”

A nightcap included an 1,100-calorie shake replete with peanut butter, whole milk, whey protein, and fruit, he says, to make it a little “healthier.”

Each morning he would storm the shelves once more in search of eggs and sausage.

His daytime feedings typically included a pound of either ground beef, turkey, bison, with perhaps sauce or taco seasoning.

Chicken and pasta with hot sauce also made the menu.

“It wasn’t anything crazy, but what makes it get insane is the volume,” he said. “It’s the amount of food you’re eating, and it’s constant. If you really want to do it, it has to be constant.”

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Sounds exhausting, right?

“No, yeah, it’s brutal,” he said with a laugh. “It’s very difficult because you just want to ... not eat.”

After about eight months, Brennan gained around 30 pounds. That, however, was just phase one.

For phase two, Brennan had the ideal general in La Salle assistant coach Chris Myers, a former NFL center.

Myers is no longer an assistant at La Salle, but Brennan credits him with his progress at the position.

By Week 1 of his sophomore year, Brennan was the starting center.

In Week 2, however, he broke the thumb on his right hand, the one he uses to snap the ball.

Brennan watched while his teammates beat St. Joseph’s Prep and eventually won the PCL title that year.

He was happy for his team’s success, but said it was difficult to be on the sidelines.

It didn’t take long, however, for Brennan to begin another mission.

He describes himself as someone who constantly needs a challenge, and learning to wrestle from scratch was exactly that.

By then, Brennan was 6-foot-2 and about 260 pounds — he’s about 270 now. He wrestled as a heavyweight, calling the practices “brutal.”

Success on the mat, though, made it worthwhile.

“When you beat someone in combat it’s like, ‘I did that,’ ” he said. “It’s not, ‘my quarterback did that’ or ‘somebody else did that. I did that.’”

It wasn’t all success, though. Brennan had something of a nemesis until last season.

He had lost several times to St. Joseph’s Prep’s Maxwell Roy before finally dispatching Roy in the District 12 championship last year.

“Like football,” Brennan said, “there are a lot lessons in [wrestling]. … It was important and cool because I had finally beaten someone I hadn’t beaten in two years of wrestling.”

Brennan also qualified for the PIAA championships, where he finished 0-2 and was pinned in his second match. The experience, however, has made him hungry for more later this year. His kitchen incursions have become less intense. These days he’s eating to maintain, not gain.

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Wrestling, he says, has also taught him to use body weight and leverage against an opponent on the football field.

“It was also just nice to see that the miserable times I had in wrestling practice were paying off because wrestling is a grueling sport,” he said.

Life as La Salle’s student-body president can also be demanding, but Brennan says he loves the camaraderie and motivation it affords.

He coordinates events, attends functions, leads daily school activities, and represents the school and the student body.

“I need a community that has a culture that is very uplifting, where they want people to succeed, and there’s a standard of excellence,” he said. “One thing I’ve learned is that I need to be around people who are as motivated as I am.”

Brennan says he has all of that inside the school and on the football field, where coach John Steinmetz values Brennan’s leadership.

When Steinmetz knows coaches might be late to practice, he leans on Brennan to make sure the team is lead through drills.

He is also someone Steinmetz can use as an example for younger players.

“A lot of times,” Steinmetz said, “kids want to get on the field but don’t want to put the work in until the summer before their senior year. He made the decision his freshman year that [gaining weight] is what he needed to do to get on the field.”

Steinmetz said that some Division I schools with high academic standards have expressed interest in Brennan as a walk-on, though Brennan isn’t sure what the future holds.

He’s open to playing football or wrestling in college, if the opportunity is right.

As much as he enjoys winning as an individual during wrestling season, Brennan seems more passionate about winning with his teammates.

“It’s awesome, especially because of the athletes we have on our team,” he said. “It’s cool to be a part of, too.”