A.C. Brown’s Oakdale High letterman jacket doesn’t have enough spare room for a fly to land on a free space of virgin wool.

He may have to tear the stitching off one of his state wrestling patches though, because January 24 marked the release of Brown’s name on a list including honors from the Cal-Hi Sports Medium School All-State First Team (defense).

Cal-Hi Sports, an ESPN-owned outlet that provides state and national rankings, along with recruiting notes and ratings for potential NCAA athletes, lists 11 first-team defensive players on its all-state list.

Casa Roble (which Oakdale beat in the playoffs) and Del Oro (who Oakdale lost to in the Section finals) are the only other two Sac-Joaquin Section programs to sport first-team all state players.

Brown was the Valley Oak League defensive player of the year and made a name for himself with crushing blows to opposing runners, receivers and quarterbacks during Oakdale’s 10-4 season and runner-up finish in the D-IV playoffs.

Brown’s imposing six foot, three inch and 215-pound frame was often the first thing opposing teams saw when the Mustangs sauntered onto the field for each prep contest in 2010.

Brown earned team captain and team MVP honors from Oakdale’s program awards ceremony on Jan. 17. It was at this event at the Oakdale Community Center where Mustang coach Trent Merzon expressed a strong desire to see Brown take his football career to the college level.

His letterman jacket, stitched and toted about the Mustang campus countless times, could certainly use the break.