Around 5 months into La-Neishah Silva's pregnancy, she was on the receiving end of comments about how the baby must be coming any day now. "I'm telling you, I was huge. All these people being real friendly, but I still got four months to go. It was scary." she recalls. "After 8 months, ladies in the church are coming up to me and saying how twins are a blessing." The scans showed otherwise - La-Neishah was carrying only one child, a boy. A very, very large boy.
On July 3, 2018, Brent Silva arrived at the Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center weighing 15lb 3oz. "There were... there were complications," his mother says, "a child is a gift from God, but Lord, you didn't need to make need a baby that big." The experience was traumatic enough that Brent would be an only child. "She told me Brenty was enough. Not gonna argue." his father, David, added with a smile.
It didn't take long for little Brent to start displaying the tendencies that would later define him on the field. "We waited two years for him to talk," David said, "but since that day he started, he never shut up. Kid was only happy when talking to me, his momma, the mailman, anyone." La-Neishah adds "He still calls me when hes driving home from a practice like 'I love you momma'. It's nice and all, but hes only doing it because he can't take being alone in a car for 10 minutes."
When he wasn't working his mouth, not-so-little Brent was teaching himself how to hit. "If he wasn't talking at you, he was running into stuff," David says, "we had to move a lot of furniture in the early days. After a while we figured it was easier to keep him talking than have one of us guarding the TV. Then he broke her leg that day." As the story goes La-Neishah was cooking dinner for the family and not responding to her five-year-old son. Wanting a hug from his mother, Brent came in on her leg. At game speed.
"Proximal fracture of the tibia," she recalls, shaking her head, "I thought a little truck come up in my kitchen. 12 weeks with a cast on my right leg. I know he never meant to hurt me." His father, a former offensive tackle at McComb High School, had a different take on things. "After we got out the hospital, all I could think was 'boy, I got me a linebacker here'" he said, grinning. Brent's potential would not be realised at an early age, though.
"Youth football had weight limits back then," says David, "so they wouldn't let a kid his size play. Kid just kept growing." Indeed, his growth was considerable, standing 5'5" and weighing 180lbs at the age of 10, but it did come at a cost. "Brenty ate everything. One time, Dave took a couple months off work with his back, money was tight. Can you imagine having to put a padlock on the refrigerator? Do you know how it felt to wake up and hear your 9 year old boy trying to saw through a padlock with a butter knife?" La-Neishah's eyes begin to tear up with the memory.
It would be worth it in the end, as all this eating would fuel the growth that set Brent on the path to stardom. David gestures to a picture on the wall. "In middle school, he was a grown ass man. He had to ease up on the hits a bit when they started throwing flags, but he got used to it." The young Silva would continue to grow and dominate in high school, becoming a fixture in their defensive line.
The dream might have been over when he was injured during a practice in his junior year. His fathre recalls "He said he felt a pop in his heel when he was doing up-downs. Couldn't walk. Doctor said he had ruptured his achilles, missed his whole junior year. They fixed that with surgery - thank God I had insurance." Despite being told he may never play again, Brent wouldn't give up. Months of rehab led to him being able to take the field again in his senior year, taking a McComb Tigers team without much of a football tradition to the state playoffs. "They still talk about him at McComb High, all 'damn, we need Brenty on this line.'"
La-Neishah sighs. "He had scouts from all over the country calling - letters, everything. You know why he chose Michigan State? They took him for a visit and he went to a Buffalo Wild Wings. We don't got one round here. I tell him that restaurant is everywhere, but he won't listen. It's got to be that one. My boy chose his future off of a Buffalo Wild Wings in East Lansing. He was happy though."
Silva had a productive career at Michigan State, as evidenced by the framed jerseys that adorn the walls of the family home. "That's the one he wore when he got 3 sacks and forced 2 fumbles against Penn State." his father says, gesturing to a giant green jersey and glowing with pride. "Nobody could stop him that day, it was like watching him in middle school all over again."
When he announced he was leaving college to pursue a career in professional sumo, his parents were as shocked as his Spartans coaches. "We had no idea where that came from. Maybe he saw some sumo wrestling on YouTube or something. We always knew he wanted to travel, but Sumo?" his mother says, smiling, "He was never gonna last long without speaking the language. He was so lost over there. But hell no, I'm not gonna be taking one of his driving calls at 3am. I need to be in work by 8."
Brent's sumo dream cost him his place in the Season 24 DSFL Prospect Draft, but he registered as a free agent and was picked up by the London Royals. "He likes London" his father says with a laugh, "we made him Google it before he went, and he found out they definitely speak English in England."
Brent Silva recorded his first sack of the season in week 3 against the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers, and looks set for more. His mom finished by offering some sound advice for both DSFL quarterbacks and ISFL scouts: "Watch out for my Brenty. You can't miss him, and he won't miss you."
On July 3, 2018, Brent Silva arrived at the Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center weighing 15lb 3oz. "There were... there were complications," his mother says, "a child is a gift from God, but Lord, you didn't need to make need a baby that big." The experience was traumatic enough that Brent would be an only child. "She told me Brenty was enough. Not gonna argue." his father, David, added with a smile.
It didn't take long for little Brent to start displaying the tendencies that would later define him on the field. "We waited two years for him to talk," David said, "but since that day he started, he never shut up. Kid was only happy when talking to me, his momma, the mailman, anyone." La-Neishah adds "He still calls me when hes driving home from a practice like 'I love you momma'. It's nice and all, but hes only doing it because he can't take being alone in a car for 10 minutes."
When he wasn't working his mouth, not-so-little Brent was teaching himself how to hit. "If he wasn't talking at you, he was running into stuff," David says, "we had to move a lot of furniture in the early days. After a while we figured it was easier to keep him talking than have one of us guarding the TV. Then he broke her leg that day." As the story goes La-Neishah was cooking dinner for the family and not responding to her five-year-old son. Wanting a hug from his mother, Brent came in on her leg. At game speed.
"Proximal fracture of the tibia," she recalls, shaking her head, "I thought a little truck come up in my kitchen. 12 weeks with a cast on my right leg. I know he never meant to hurt me." His father, a former offensive tackle at McComb High School, had a different take on things. "After we got out the hospital, all I could think was 'boy, I got me a linebacker here'" he said, grinning. Brent's potential would not be realised at an early age, though.
"Youth football had weight limits back then," says David, "so they wouldn't let a kid his size play. Kid just kept growing." Indeed, his growth was considerable, standing 5'5" and weighing 180lbs at the age of 10, but it did come at a cost. "Brenty ate everything. One time, Dave took a couple months off work with his back, money was tight. Can you imagine having to put a padlock on the refrigerator? Do you know how it felt to wake up and hear your 9 year old boy trying to saw through a padlock with a butter knife?" La-Neishah's eyes begin to tear up with the memory.
It would be worth it in the end, as all this eating would fuel the growth that set Brent on the path to stardom. David gestures to a picture on the wall. "In middle school, he was a grown ass man. He had to ease up on the hits a bit when they started throwing flags, but he got used to it." The young Silva would continue to grow and dominate in high school, becoming a fixture in their defensive line.
The dream might have been over when he was injured during a practice in his junior year. His fathre recalls "He said he felt a pop in his heel when he was doing up-downs. Couldn't walk. Doctor said he had ruptured his achilles, missed his whole junior year. They fixed that with surgery - thank God I had insurance." Despite being told he may never play again, Brent wouldn't give up. Months of rehab led to him being able to take the field again in his senior year, taking a McComb Tigers team without much of a football tradition to the state playoffs. "They still talk about him at McComb High, all 'damn, we need Brenty on this line.'"
La-Neishah sighs. "He had scouts from all over the country calling - letters, everything. You know why he chose Michigan State? They took him for a visit and he went to a Buffalo Wild Wings. We don't got one round here. I tell him that restaurant is everywhere, but he won't listen. It's got to be that one. My boy chose his future off of a Buffalo Wild Wings in East Lansing. He was happy though."
Silva had a productive career at Michigan State, as evidenced by the framed jerseys that adorn the walls of the family home. "That's the one he wore when he got 3 sacks and forced 2 fumbles against Penn State." his father says, gesturing to a giant green jersey and glowing with pride. "Nobody could stop him that day, it was like watching him in middle school all over again."
When he announced he was leaving college to pursue a career in professional sumo, his parents were as shocked as his Spartans coaches. "We had no idea where that came from. Maybe he saw some sumo wrestling on YouTube or something. We always knew he wanted to travel, but Sumo?" his mother says, smiling, "He was never gonna last long without speaking the language. He was so lost over there. But hell no, I'm not gonna be taking one of his driving calls at 3am. I need to be in work by 8."
Brent's sumo dream cost him his place in the Season 24 DSFL Prospect Draft, but he registered as a free agent and was picked up by the London Royals. "He likes London" his father says with a laugh, "we made him Google it before he went, and he found out they definitely speak English in England."
Brent Silva recorded his first sack of the season in week 3 against the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers, and looks set for more. His mom finished by offering some sound advice for both DSFL quarterbacks and ISFL scouts: "Watch out for my Brenty. You can't miss him, and he won't miss you."
