SOFTER SIDE OF THE BEAR UCLA DT BROWN NOT YOUR AVERAGE PLAYER.

Byline: BRIAN DOHN

Staff Writer

He is nicknamed Bear, and with his aggressive, hard-to-handle nature as a defensive tackle, his sheer size and even the woolly beard he sometimes wears, it seems to make sense.

Except the nickname has nothing to do with football -- and is even less about his demeanor.

Meet Kevin Brown, a fifth-year senior starter at UCLA and someone who is not what most people think.

"I was playing a (wrestling) video game (called War Zone), and I made this character and I just named him Bear," Brown said. "He was this guy that was all gold and wore a clown mask. I always used to play with the character, and my cousins, my brothers, they started calling me Bear."

That was about eightyears ago. The nickname stuck, although his teammates have no idea where it came from. "On the field he's like a big bear, a savage," senior linebacker Aaron Whittington said.

There are more surprises from the 6-foot-3, 295-pound Brown. He said he is big into video games, but if he wants to check out the latest, it means either a long walk to the store or bumming a ride. Brown may be the teeth of UCLA's defensive front seven, but he doesn't have a driver's license.

"It's crazy, right?" UCLA cornerback Trey Brown said. "I could never imagine that. I need a license to survive. It's like air for me."

Kevin Brown, who attended Long Beach Poly, doesn't think it's a big deal. He said he's not averse to driving, nor afraid of it. He just never got around to getting his license. He said he struck out on his latest trip to the DMV because he didn't have an appointment.

"I can drive," said Brown, who turned 22 on July 8. "I've taken the written test three times with the intent to taking driving class and getting my license, but I never got around to taking the test. I'll get my license, and then I'm going to have to get Geico."

Brown boards planes using his California state identification.

Whittington, his former roommate, said Brown is "the best roommate." He said Brown was funny, laid back, quiet, a video game aficionado ("I beat him 70-2 in Madden," Whittington said) and just a cool guy to hang around.

But?...

"His side of the room was dirty," Whittington said. "We always played jokes on each other. It was great (rooming with Brown). Occasionally, I may have left my bed unmade a couple of times. It was like a hurricane went through the room and only hit his side."

That was last year, and Brown has moved on. So what does his current roommate think of him?

Well, let's give it some time.

Whereas many players, especially seniors, live off-campus with teammates, enjoying the freedom of a multi-bedroom dwelling, Brown went the other way. At his request, he is rooming with a non-athlete in the campus dorms. Classes begin today.

"At the dorms, everything is there for you," Brown said. "I don't see the point of moving off-campus, unless you just don't like it that much. I'm not a big-time guy that needs my space around me. I wanted to see what it was like rooming with (a non-athlete)."

But it is not accurate to paint Brown as an introvert.

UCLA defensive end Bruce Davis, another fifth-year senior, said other members of the team chide he and Brown for being "a married couple" because they are always playfully bickering.

Brown also bucked the trend of most UCLA football players, who major in history, by majoring in sociology (he will graduate in December).

At one point, he wanted to be a teacher, but that has changed.

"It's like being a coach, and I have no intention on being a coach," Brown said. "I don't see that I'm cut out for it."

One career option is the NFL. UCLA second-year defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker, who has seven years of experience as an NFL assistant, said Brown's size and athleticism will give him the opportunity to play professionally.

Whether Brown can continue his current course could be the determining factor of how long his career lasts. He ended 2004 with a memorable, career-awakening two-sack performance in a five-point loss to USC. But he was injured the following August in training camp and missed the 2005 season.

Brown played last season, but was rusty at the outset and worn down by the end. His weight fluctuated between 290 and 310 pounds, and his effort suffered.

"Shoot, he's made a 180 (degree) turn this year," Walker said. "To me, watching him, just his effort (is better). He's improved considerably, and I'm real happy for the kid. He's playing really hard. Whatever he gets out of this season, he deserves."

Truthful is among the other things that best describe Brown. Despite playing well the first month of the season and being in much better shape, he says he is not the same player he was before the severe ankle sprain, which led to surgery.

"I was in pain all the time. That was a bad injury," Brown said. "I was a lot quicker when I was a sophomore. I think I was a different player. I was faster."

Whereas Brown was raw talent before the injury, he said that now "I've gained too much knowledge," and he tends to overthink plays instead of trusting his instincts on the field.

Asked about the maddest he became during a game, he slowly shakes his head and says he doesn't get mad because, as a former offensive lineman, he knows opponents are doing anything possible to survive.

"I'm not a tough guy," Brown said. "I'm cool, calm."

And refreshingly unique.

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) UCLA's Kevin Brown, left, has the size and speed to play in the NFL, defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker said.

Gus Ruelas/Associated Press

(2 -- color) BROWN