Donald Brown (running back)

Donald Brown

refer to caption

Brown with the Chargers in 2015
No. 34New England Patriots
Position: Running back
Personal information
Date of birth: (1987-04-11) April 11, 1987
Place of birth: Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey
Height: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school: Red Bank (NJ) Catholic
College: Connecticut
NFL draft: 2009 / Round: 1 / Pick: 27
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 15, 2015
Rushing yards: 2,731
Rushing average: 4.1
Receptions: 115
Receiving yards: 1,023
Total TDs: 19
Player stats at NFL.com

Donald Eugene Brown II (born April 11, 1987) is an American football running back who signed a one-year contract March 16, 2016 with the New England Patriots of NFL (National Football League). Brown was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He has also played for the San Diego Chargers, and he played college football at Connecticut.

High school career

Brown attended Red Bank Catholic High School in Red Bank, New Jersey, where he played football and ran track. During his senior season, Brown rushed for 2,032 yards and 27 touchdowns. In track, Brown was timed at 11.3 seconds in the 100 meters and 23.2 seconds in the 200 meters. Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Brown was listed as the No. 53 running back prospect in the nation in 2005.[1] He picked Connecticut over Wisconsin on December 8, 2004.

College career

Brown signed a national letter of intent to enroll at UConn on February 2, 2005. He would conclude his collegiate career as the all-time leading rusher for Connecticut with 3,800 yards. After rushing for over 2,000 yards in his junior year, Brown decided to forgo his senior year to enter the 2009 NFL Draft.

2006 season

Brown entered his redshirt freshman season in 2006 as a kickoff returner and second string running back behind senior captain and incumbent starter, Terry Caulley. Brown showed flashes of his running ability in the first game of the year, when he rushed for 118 yards on only 9 carries, including a 53 yard touchdown run, against Rhode Island. He would play primarily on special teams for the first half of the year. However, when Caulley went down with an injury before Connecticut's game against Rutgers on October 29, Brown was asked to make his first career start at running back. He made the most of this opportunity, as he rushed for 199 yards on 28 carries and 2 touchdowns. This performance proved to be too good to ignore, as he was awarded the starting job for the rest of the season. Brown had his best outing of his freshman campaign in the next game when he rushed for 205 yards on 43 carries with 3 touchdowns (1 receiving) in Connecticut's 46–45 double overtime win over Pittsburgh. Brown would average 134 yards per game in the five Big East games that he started. He finished the year with 896 yards and 9 touchdowns (2 receiving), which was good enough to award him with a 2nd team All Big East nomination.[2]

2007 season

Brown began his sophomore season with heightened expectations brought on by his very successful rookie campaign. However, nagging injuries combined with the emergence of fellow sophomore Andre Dixon would hamper his sophomore season. He would finish the year with 821 yards and 8 touchdowns, which was good for second on the team, behind Dixon. Twice, Brown ran for 100 yards in a game (against Rutgers and West Virginia) and just missed two more by rushing for 99 yards against Duke and Syracuse.

2008 season

A pre-season ankle injury to Dixon would cement Brown as the Huskies starting running back for the start of his junior season. It would be a position that he would not relinquish. Brown would begin the year with eight straight 100 yard games and would twice eclipse the 200 yard mark (against Temple and Virginia). He arguably had his best performance in the second game of the year as he rushed for 214 yards on 36 carries and the game's only touchdown against Temple, in a game played in a monsoon due to Tropical Storm Hannah.[3] Included in his 214 yards was every one of Connecticut's 25 yards in overtime. Brown rushed for 150 yards in the eighth game of the season at home in a 40–16 Connecticut victory over eventual Big East champion Cincinnati. These 150 yards increased his season total to 1,324, which set a new Connecticut single-season record.[4] The old tally of 1,262 had been set by Tory Taylor in 1995. Brown needed only eight games to break Taylor's record. Brown continued his record breaking season in the tenth game at Syracuse. In that game, he rushed for 131 yards on 31 attempts. A 49-yard touchdown run in the second quarter would allow Brown to surpass Caulley as Connecticut's all time leading rusher.[5] Brown would finish the regular season with 1,822 yards, which placed him first for rushing in the NCAA Division I FBS. His performance awarded him the Big East Offensive Player of the Year.[6] On January 3, 2009, Brown was named Player of the Game in UConn's 38–20 victory over the University at Buffalo in the 2009 International Bowl in Toronto. He finished the game with 261 yards rushing (208 in the first half) and a touchdown. He finished the season with 2,083 rushing yards, becoming only the 14th player in FBS history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season.[7] On January 8, 2009, Brown was named Eastern College Athletic Conference Player of the Year.[8] Following the International Bowl, Brown announced his intention to enter the 2009 NFL Draft.[9]

Statistics

Year Rush Att Rush Yds Rush Avg Rush TD Rec Att Rec Yds Rec Avg Rec TD
2005 Redshirted
2006 161 999 5.6 7 13 66 5.1 2
2007 170 821 4.8 8 14 85 6.1 0
2008 367 2,083 5.7 18 21 125 6.0 0
Career 698 3,800 5.4 33 48 276 5.8 2

Professional career

2009 NFL Draft

Brown was considered one of the top three running back prospects available in the draft (alongside Knowshon Moreno and Chris Wells) and drew comparisons to Willie Parker.[10] He was drafted with the 27th pick in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. Brown became the first Connecticut Husky ever to be picked in the first round of an NFL Draft.[11]

Pre-draft measurables
Ht WtArm lengthHand size 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP
5 ft 10 in 210 lb31½ in9 in 4.46 s 1.50 s 2.55 s 4.10 s 6.93 s 41½ in 10 ft 5 in
All results from NFL Combine"NFL Events: Combine Top Performers". NFL.com. 

Indianapolis Colts

2009 season

Brown with the Colts in 2010.

Brown signed a five-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts on August 2, 2009.[12] In his first action as a member of the team, Brown ran for 58 yards on five carries against the Minnesota Vikings in the first week of the preseason.[13]

He scored his first touchdown on September 21, 2009 against the Miami Dolphins in a 27–23 Colts win.

2010 season

On December 19, 2010, Donald recorded his first 100+ yard game in a 34–24 win against the Jaguars.

2011 season

Brown saw increased playing time during the 2011 Regular Season. He had his best game as a professional in a Week 15 27–13 win over the Tennessee Titans when he rushed 16 times for 161 yards and scored a touchdown on an 80-yard run in the fourth quarter to seal the first victory of the season for Indianapolis.

2012 season

Brown's 2012 season was hampered by some nagging injuries and the showing of rookie back Vick Ballard. He wasn't very effective the entire season, posting no 100 yard games and only one rushing touchdown.

2013 season

Brown was originally not a starter for the Colts in the 2013 season. However, due to injuries and lack of production from other running backs Brown was named the starting running back against the Tennessee Titans in Week 13. He ran for 54 yards and a touchdown. He would remain the starter for the remainder of the regular season.

San Diego Chargers

2014 season

On March 11, 2014, Brown signed a three-year, $10.5 million contract with the San Diego Chargers. $4 million of the contract is guaranteed.[14]

2015 season

He was released on October 3, 2015,[15] but re-signed two days later.[16] On March 3, 2016, Brown was released.[17]

New England Patriots

2016 season

On March 16, 2016, Brown signed a one-year contract with the New England Patriots worth $965,000 with $300,000 guaranteed.[18]

Career statistics

Season Team Games Rushing Receiving Fumbles
GP Att Att/G Yds Avg Yds/G TD Lng Rec Yds Avg Yds/G Lng TD FUM Lost
Regular season
2015 San Diego Chargers 10 59 5.9 229 3.9 22.9 1 53 8 88 11.0 8.8 31 0 1 0
2014 San Diego Chargers 13 36.5 223 2.6 17.2016 29 211 7.3 16.2 24 0 1 0
2013 Indianapolis Colts 16 56.4 537 5.3 33.6651T 27 214 7.9 13.4 33T 2 00
2012 Indianapolis Colts 10 410.8 417 3.9 41.7119 9 93 10.3 9.3 39 0 00
2011 Indianapolis Colts 16 28.4 645 4.8 40.3580T 16 86 5.4 5.4 17 0 00
2010 Indianapolis Colts 13 89.9 497 3.9 38.2249 20 205 10.3 15.8 25 0 00
2009 Indianapolis Colts 11 17.1 281 3.6 22.5345 11 169 15.4 15.4 72 0 1 0
Total 89 7.8 695 2,8294.1 31.81880891,0668.9 12.0 72 2 2 0
Season Team Games Rushing Receiving Fumbles
GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD FUM Lost
Postseason
2013 Indianapolis Colts 1 1 11 55 5.0 13 1 4 47 11.8 25 1 1 0
2009 Indianapolis Colts 3 0 16 46 2.9 13 0 3 26 8.7 11 0
Total 4 1 27 101 3.7 13 1 7 73 10.4 25 1 1 0

See also

References

  1. "Rivals.com Running backs 2005". Rivals.com. January 22, 2005.
  2. Big East Announces 2006 Postseason Football Awards
  3. ESPN – Brown key as UConn stops Temple in overtime
  4. UConnHuskies.com Game Recap
  5. UConnHuskies.com Game recap
  6. Big East Announces 2008 Postseason Football Honors
  7. Brown rushes for 261 yards as Huskies win International Bowl
  8. "Donald Brown Named ECAC Player of the Year". UConn. 2009-01-08. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
  9. UConn Takes International Bowl's Brown to the NFL
  10. Pompei, Dan (April 12, 2009). "2009 NFL Draft: Dan Pompei's top running backs". Chicago Tribune.Lande, Russ (April 24, 2009). "2009 NFL Draft: Best of the running backs". The Sporting News."Pro Football War Room: Donald Brown". SportingNews.com. April 25, 2009.
  11. "Donald Brown Goes in NFL Draft First Round". UConnHuskies.com. April 25, 2009.
  12. "After Signing, UConn's Donald Brown Hits Practice Field". Hartford Courant. August 3, 2009.
  13. Donald Brown Will Be a Big Part of Indy's Offense
  14. Florio, Mike (March 11, 2014). "Donald Brown bolts the Colts". NBCSports.com. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  15. Patra, Kevin (October 3, 2015). "Chargers cut RB Donald Brown, sign G Michael Ola". NFL.com. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  16. Williams, Eric D. (October 5, 2015). "Chargers bring back RB Donald Brown". espn.go.com. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  17. "Chargers release Donald Brown, save $3.5M". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  18. "Patriots sign veteran RB Donald Brown". New England Patriots. Retrieved 2016-03-19.

External links

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