Donald Brown (American football)
Encyclopedia
Donald Eugene Brown II (born April 11, 1987, in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey
) is an American football
running back
for the Indianapolis Colts
of the National Football League
. He was the starting running back for the University of Connecticut
Huskies
from 2006 to 2008.
in Red Bank, New Jersey
. During his senior year, Brown rushed for 2,032 yards and 27 touchdowns. Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com
, Brown was listed as the No. 53 running back prospect in the nation in 2005. He picked Connecticut
over Wisconsin on December 8, 2004.
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
.
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.
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
.
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. 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. 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.
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
.
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. On January 8, 2009, Brown was named Eastern College Athletic Conference
Player of the Year.
Following the International Bowl, Brown announced his intention to enter the 2009 NFL Draft.
Year
Rush Att
Rush Yds
Rush Avg
Rush TD
Rec Att
Rec Yds
Rec Avg
Rec TD
2005
Redshirted
2006
161
896
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
and Chris Wells
) and drew comparisons to Willie Parker
. 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.
on August 2, 2009. 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.
He scored his first touchdown on September 21, 2009 against the Miami Dolphins in a 27-23 Colts win.
On December 19, 2010, Donald recorded his first 100+ yard game in a 34-24 win against the Jaguars.
Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey
Atlantic Highlands is a Borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey in the Bayshore Region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 4,385...
) is an American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
for the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He was the starting running back for the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
Huskies
Connecticut Huskies football
The Connecticut Huskies football team is a collegiate football team that competes in NCAA Division I-A and the Big East Conference. Connecticut first fielded a team in 1896, and participated in Division I-AA until 1999. The Huskies began their two-year Division I-A transition period in 2000, and...
from 2006 to 2008.
High school career
Brown attended Red Bank Catholic High SchoolRed Bank Catholic High School
Red Bank Catholic High School is a four-year private coeducational Roman Catholic high school, located in Red Bank, New Jersey, under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton...
in Red Bank, New Jersey
Red Bank, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 11,844 people, 5,201 households, and 2,501 families residing in the borough. The population density was 6,639.1 people per square mile . There were 5,450 housing units at an average density of 3,055.0 per square mile...
. During his senior year, Brown rushed for 2,032 yards and 27 touchdowns. Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting. The network was started in 1996 and currently employs more than 300 personnel.-Schools:The individual collegiate sites can be found...
, Brown was listed as the No. 53 running back prospect in the nation in 2005. He picked Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
over Wisconsin on December 8, 2004.
College career
Brown signed a national letter of intent to enroll at UConnUniversity of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
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
2009 NFL Draft
The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft consisted of two rounds on the first day starting at 4:00...
.
2006 season
Brown entered his redshirtRedshirt (college sports)
Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility...
freshman season in 2006 as a kickoff returner and second string running back behind senior captain and incumbent starter, Terry Caulley
Terry Caulley
Terry J. Caulley is an American Football running back. He played college football at Connecticut. Despite sitting out the second half of 2003 and the entire 2004 season with a knee injury, he has racked up 3,187 rushing yards including 31 touchdowns. In 2003, Caulley had a breakout game against...
. 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
University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...
. 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
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
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
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
.
Brown would average 134 yards per game in the five Big East
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
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.
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 DixonAndre Dixon
Andre Jamar Dixon is an American football running back who currently plays for the Sacramento Mountain Lions. He was signed by the Hartford Colonials as a first round draft pick in 2010. He played college football at Connecticut....
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
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
) and just missed two more by rushing for 99 yards against Duke
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
and Syracuse
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
.
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 TempleTemple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
and Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
). 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. 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
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
. These 150 yards increased his season total to 1,324, which set a new Connecticut single-season record. 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
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
. 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.
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
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
Offensive Player of the Year
Big East Conference football awards
The Big East Conference gives five football awards at the conclusion of every season. The awards were first given in 1991 following the conference's first football season. The five awards include Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Special Teams Player of the Year, Rookie of...
.
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
2009 International Bowl
The 2009 International Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game between the Connecticut Huskies and the Buffalo Bulls at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 3, 2009. The game was the final contest of the 2008 NCAA Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision football...
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. On January 8, 2009, Brown was named Eastern College Athletic Conference
Eastern College Athletic Conference
The Eastern College Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 21 sports . It has 317 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from Maine to North Carolina and west to Illinois...
Player of the Year.
Following the International Bowl, Brown announced his intention to enter the 2009 NFL Draft.
Statistics
Redshirt (college sports)
Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility...
2009 NFL Draft
Brown was considered one of the top three running back prospects available in the draft (alongside Knowshon MorenoKnowshon Moreno
Knowshon Rockwell Moreno is an American football running back for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He was selected 12th overall in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Broncos. He played college football at the University of Georgia.-Early years:Moreno grew up in Belford, a neighborhood in...
and Chris Wells
Chris Wells (American football)
Chris "Beanie" Michael Wells is an American football running back for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League...
) and drew comparisons to Willie Parker
Willie Parker
"Fast" Willie Everette Parker Jr. is an American football running back for the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at North Carolina...
. He was drafted with the 27th pick in the 2009 NFL Draft
2009 NFL Draft
The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft consisted of two rounds on the first day starting at 4:00...
by the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
. Brown became the first Connecticut Husky
Connecticut Huskies football
The Connecticut Huskies football team is a collegiate football team that competes in NCAA Division I-A and the Big East Conference. Connecticut first fielded a team in 1896, and participated in Division I-AA until 1999. The Huskies began their two-year Division I-A transition period in 2000, and...
ever to be picked in the first round of an NFL Draft.
Indianapolis Colts
Brown signed a five-year contract with the Indianapolis ColtsIndianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
on August 2, 2009. In his first action as a member of the team, Brown ran for 58 yards on five carries against the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
in the first week of the preseason.
He scored his first touchdown on September 21, 2009 against the Miami Dolphins in a 27-23 Colts win.
On December 19, 2010, Donald recorded his first 100+ yard game in a 34-24 win against the Jaguars.