Donald Brown
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Donald Brown (born Donald Eugene Brown II on April 11, 1987) plays running back for the University of Connecticut Huskies in the NCAA college football tournament. Despite starting out his career as a defensive back in high school, Brown has become a natural weapon on the offensive backfield for UConn. With his built and strong legs, Brown has made quite a number of highlight reels with his "Houdini-like" acts, escaping his defenders and shedding off tacklers with ease. Although not the biggest tailback in the nation, Brown is strong enough to take a hit and still finish off runs, and in certain situations when he can't make a defender miss, Brown is more than willing to drag his defender along to the endzone.
Contents |
[edit] Personal Life
Donald Eugene, a native of the Atlantic Highlands, N.J., is the son of Lisa and Donald Brown. He is an exercise science major and a student of both the physical and mental side of athletics at the University of Connecticut.
[edit] High School
Brown played high school football at Red Bank Catholic High School in Red Bank, New Jersey. Brown originally played defensive back at RBC, tallying 53 tackles, 14 pass break ups, and two interceptions. During his junior year, Caseys coach Frank Edgerly moved Brown on offense and he responded well, rushing for 1,115 yards and 15 touchdowns in addition to 271 receiving yards and one kickoff return for a touchdown. His performance got him selected into the 1st team All Division, 2nd team All County, and 2nd team All Jersey Shore as a running back. Since that time, Brown started to get interests from several prestigious FBS schools. During his senior year while playing as the team's Captain, Brown improved his digits all the more when he recorded 2,032 rushing yards and 27 scoring runs to receive first team All-Division, All-Monmouth County and All-Jersey Shore picks, a second team All-State selection, and a Divisional Offensive MVP honors. Brown's showing during his stay at RBC helped the school earn the nickname of "Running Back Catholic."
Aside from football, Brown also excelled as part of the track team, earning a total of six letters while participating in indoor and outdoor competitions. He was also named as an All-Shore selection in the long jump and 400 meters. Brown also received an All-American Scholar Award.
[edit] College
During the recruiting stage, Brown's father, who graduated at William Penn University (a small college in Iowa), wanted his son to go to Iowa. His mother on the other hand wanted him to stay close and go to a school on the East Coast. At that time, the schools on his list include UConn, Virginia, Tennessee, Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Unfortunately, UT and NU wanted him to reprise his role on the defensive end while Iowa and UW were a plane ride away. With UVa.'s offer coming in late, Brown eventually decided to become a Husky and stick to the school that had first shown interest in him.
[edit] 2005
As a true freshman, Brown redshirted and was used in practices as part of the scout team. He was named as the Offensive Scout Team Player of the Week after helping his team prepare for the West Virginia game.
[edit] 2006
Brown played behind Terry Caulley as a redshirt freshman and made his collegiate debut against Rhode Island where he rushed 9 times for 118 yards and two touchdowns with a 7-yard catch to boot to help the Huskies register a 52-7 victory. Against Wake Forest the following week however, the Demon Deacons limited him to only 5 carries for 8 yards but made his special teams debut as a returner with 3 kickoff returns for 86 yards in the 11-point defeat. He continued to put up decent numbers in the next three games, carrying six times each at Indiana (30 yards) and against Navy (29 yards) and had 3 more attempts for 15 yards in his Big East debut at South Florida. After getting shut-out by Army and getting limited touches against 4th ranked WVU, Brown took over from the injured Caulley and exploded for 199 yards and 2 TDs on 28 carries in his first career start at 15th ranked Rutgers. His rushing production was the first 100-yard rushing output allowed by the Scarlet Knights in two years.
In what turned out to be the team's last win of the season against Pittsburgh, Brown rushed 43 times for 205 yards and two touchdowns and caught four passes for 26 yards and another score to help UConn escape with a 46-45 overtime win. His performance, which got him a share of the game ball with D.J. Hernandez, reached the record books with his 43 carries getting ranked second in both UConn and BIG EAST history while his rushing yardage was listed as the 14th 200-yard rushing game in school history and only the first since 2003. In losses at Syracuse and against Cincinnati, Brown carried the pigskin 18 times each and gained 67 yards against the Orange and 80 yards with 1 score against the Bearcats. He ended the year with his 4th 100-yard rushing game of the season, rushing for 122 yards on 21 carries in the 31-point blow-out loss to Louisville. Brown ended the year as the team's leading rusher with 896 yards and 7 TDs on 161 carries in 12 appearances to earn an All-BIG EAST recognition---the only freshman to earn all-conference honors. Brown also caught 13 passes for 66 yards and two TDs and returned nine kickoffs for a 23.3 yard average during the year.
[edit] 2007
With Caulley's departure, Brown moved into the starting spot at the tailback position. He got 19 carries for 99 yards and 1 TD in the season opening win at Duke then had 20 carries for 87 yards in the shut-out win over Maine. With defenders putting their eyes on Brown, fellow tailback Andre Dixon got the chance to shine, outgaining Brown in 2 of the next 3 wins with 129 yards against Temple and 116 yards against Akron. Brown for his part rushed for 54 yards and 2 scores against the Owls and 65 yards and 1 score against the Zips, in addition to rushing 18 times for 53 yards and another TD in the win at Pitt. In that win against Akron, Brown sustained a sprained ankle and was forced to sit out at Virginia. He returned against U of L but was limited to 8 yards on 5 carries in the 4-point win then had a season low 1 carry for a yard in the 7-point win over 11th ranked USF. Against Rutgers, Brown probably played his best game of the season when he ran for 154 yards and 1 TD on 24 carries in the victory over RU but was shut down in the 24-point setback at Cincy in the ensuing game.
In the final two games of the regular season, Brown had 22 carries apiece with 99 yards and 1 TD in the win against SU and 129 yards and another score with 3 receptions for 24 yards in the disappointing 21-66 defeat at 4th ranked West Virginia. In his postseason debut against Wake Forest at the Meineke Car Care Bowl, Brown rushed 13 times for 72 yards in 10-24 loss. He finished the season behind Dixon in rushing yards with 821 on a team-leading 170 carries with a team-best 8 scoring runs. Both he and Dixon were named as the Huskies' co-Offensive MVPs.
[edit] 2008
Despite Dixon's breakout 2007 season and remarkable showing in the spring game, Brown still got his coaches' nod to start for the season. He opened the year with a career game, rushing for 146 yards and four touchdowns in the 35-3 drubbing of Hofstra. His four scoring runs that afternoon was the most by a UConn player in a single game since Cornell Brockington's three in 2005 and also tied for the third-most in a single game by a UConn player in the program’s history. It also matched Brockington’s four TD’s at Wake Forest in 2003 which stood as the school single-game rushing record since the program moved to Division I-A in 2002. The following week against Temple, Brown rushed for a career-best 214 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown on the Huskies' first overtime possession to give Connecticut a 12-9 road win. His 214 output was the 10th-best rushing day in Husky history. In week 3 against UVa., Brown rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns and caught five passes for 32 yards in less than 3 quarters of action to help UConn win, 45-10. His performance got him named as the Big East's offensive player of the week. In week four, Brown had 34 carries for 150 yards and two touchdowns to help carry UConn to a 31-28 win against Baylor and earn a spot at the Big East weekly honor roll.
At Louisville, Brown had 124 rushing yards at the half before finishing with 190 on 33 carries and a touchdown in a 26-21 Husky victory. His rushing yards and TD production against the Cards moved him to third in the school's career rushing list. At North Carolina, he scored his 12th TD of the season and finished with 161 yards on 33 carries in the 12-38 setback. His output against the Tar Heels gave him 2,784 yards to move him past Wilbur Gilliard into second place on the UConn career rushing list while raising his season total to 1,067, making him the 10th player in UConn history to rush for at least 1,000 yards in a season. At Rutgers, he had a game high 25 carries for 106 yards but was kept out of the endzone for the first time in the season as the Huskies lost a 10-12 decision. Against Cincinnati, he set the single-season school rushing mark with his 53-yard run late in the game before finishing with 150 yards (8th consecutive 100-yard game of the season), two rushing TDs, and a career long 27-yard reception in the 40-16 win over the Bearcats. Against West Virginia, he was held down to a season-low 82 rushing yards and a TD on 19 carries as UConn got demolished, 13-35. He got back on track at Syracuse after rushing for a TD and 131 yards in the 39-14 win. His total made him the school's all-time career rushing leader, passing Terry Caulley, with 3,254. At South Florida, the Bulls' defense kept him out of the endzone and just below the 100-yard mark for the second time in the season as the Huskies dropped a close 13-17 defeat. In the regular-season finale against Pitt, he had 189 yards on 34 carries and scored the Huskies’ lone touchdown on a 57-yard bolt down the sideline in the third quarter of the 10-34 UConn loss.
He finished the regular season as the leading rusher in the FBS with 1,822 yards and was named as the Big East Offensive Player of the Year, a first team All-Big East, and a second-team All-American. At the International Bowl, Brown rushed for 261 yards (4th-best single-game total in UConn history) and a TD on 29 carries to lead UConn past MAC champions Buffalo, 38-20. He was named as the Most Valuable Player of the Game, then announced after that he will forgo his senior year to join the draft.
[edit] Highlights
| Donald Brown's 206-yard, 3-TD performance against Virginia. (2008) |
[edit] Career Stats
| Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
| Year | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD |
| 2006 | 161 | 896 | 5.6 | 65 | 7 | 13 | 66 | 5.1 | 13 | 2 |
| 2007 | 170 | 821 | 4.8 | 70 | 8 | 14 | 85 | 6.1 | 14 | 0 |
| 2008 | 367 | 2083 | 5.7 | 75 | 18 | 21 | 125 | 6.0 | 27 | 0 |
[edit] Achievements
[edit] 2008
- All-Big East First Team Second Team All-American
- Associated Press
- Big East Helmet Stickers (vs. Hofstra, vs. Temple, vs. Virginia)
- Big East Offensive Player of the Week (vs. Virginia)
- Big East Offensive Player of the Year
- Big East Weekly Honor Roll (vs. Louisville, vs. Cincinnati, vs. Syracuse)
- CBSSports.com Midseason All-America Team
- CFN Mid-Season First Team All-American
- CollegeFootballNews.com All-American First Team
- CollegeFootballNews.com All-Big East Team
- CollegeFootballNews.com's #1 Player and RB in the Big East
- Doak Walker Award Semifinalist
- ECAC Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Player of the Year
- Most Valuable Player of the Game
- Maxwell Award Semifinalist
- International Bowl MVP
- The Sporting News First Team All-American
- UConn MVP
- UConn Offensive Player of the Year
- Phil Steele First Team All-Big East
- Phil Steele Preseason All-Big East Third Team
- Phil Steele Third Team All-American
- SI.com's Midseason First Team All-American
- Walter Camp Football Foundation Second Team All-American
- Walter Camp Player Of The Year Award Players to Watch List
[edit] 2007
- Athlon Sports All-Big East Second Team
- Doak Walker Award watch list
- CollegefootballNews.com Preseason All-Big East Second Team
- CollegefootballNews.com's #8 Preseason Player in the Big East
- Phil Steele All-Big East Third Team
[edit] 2006
- All-Big East Second Team
- BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (vs. Rutgers)
- CollegefootballNews.com's #3 RB in the Big East
- CollegefootballNews.com's #18 Player in the Big East
- The Sporting News Freshman All-America Honorable Mention
[edit] 2005
- Offensive Scout Team Player of the Week (vs. West Virginia)
