Creating a brotherhood is important to any sports program, but is it easier when they recruit siblings?

Eastern seems to believe so as half of their defensive back field is related. Albuquerque natives Todd and Charles Countee are brothers who anchor the Greyhounds’ secondary.

The Countees were both multi-sport athletes and big time standouts in football in their respective positions at Manzano High School.  Todd (class of 2014) and Charles (class of 2015) are now in the midst of their latest chapter of football together at Eastern. Todd, who mostly played defense, was brought in as a strong safety while Charles, who mostly played offense, was recruited to play corner.

When asked what it’s like to go from offense at a high school level to defense at a college, Charles said, “It actually helps me because I understand what a receiver wants to do and how an offense works. I see route combinations faster because I played offense and I’ve seen how good defensive backs stop my route so, overall, it makes me a better corner.”

When asked what the difference from playing safety in high school compared to college is, Todd said, “It was hard because the game is so much faster and the receivers are so much better, but once I adjusted to the speed of the game it was like high school again and I became more comfortable.”

Todd and Charles have done very well for themselves at Eastern, with Todd finishing his season with First Team All-Conference Honors and Charles starting as a redshirt freshman.

When asked what it’s like to play with his brother, Todd said, “It’s cool because we are both very competitive with everything, so we make each other better, but when we are on the field, Charles, being my brother, doesn’t really cross my mind, but off the field we are pretty close.”

When asked what it’s like to play with his brother, Charles said, “It’s very completive because we push each other, but we focus on being team players and not just us being brothers. We try and create the bond we have with our whole team.”

Not many athletes get to play on the same colligate team as their brother, even less get to play at the same time and only a few yards away. In the football world corners and safeties have to work together and trust one another. Who better to trust than your own brother.

The Countees have done well as Greyhounds on and off the field and they will do greater things in the future.