Courtney Brown (defensive end)

For the current NFL cornerback, see Courtney Brown (cornerback). For other persons named Courtney Brown, see Courtney Brown.

Courtney Brown

No. 92, 98
Defensive End
Personal information
Date of birth: February 14, 1978 (1978-02-14) (age 33)
Place of birth: Charleston, South Carolina
Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	Weight: 285 lb (129 kg)
Career information
College: Penn State
NFL Draft: 2000 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1
Debuted in 2000 for the Cleveland Browns
Last played in 2005 for the Denver Broncos
Career history
Cleveland Browns (2000–2004) Denver Broncos (2005–2006)
Career highlights and awards
College awards and honors
Career NFL statistics as of 2006
Tackles	156
Sacks	19.0
Forced fumbles	6
Stats at NFL.com

Courtney Lanair Brown (born February 14, 1978 in Charleston, South Carolina) is a former defensive end for the Cleveland Browns & Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Browns first overall in the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at Penn State.

Early years

Growing up in Alvin, SC, Brown attended Macedonia High School and was an All-American linebacker his senior year. He also contributed on offense by playing tight end. Brown earned Gatorade Player-of-the-Year accolades in his senior year. He played in the Shrine Bowl. Brown was also an accomplished basketball star playing in the North/South All-Star game. Throughout his high school career, he maintained a 4.0 GPA.

College career

Courtney Brown attended Penn State from 1996-2000 where he was teammates with LaVar Arrington and Brandon Short. In 1999, he was a consensus First-team All-American and was named First-team All-Big Ten. Brown earned the defensive player of the year award and defensive linemen of the year award in his senior year. He finished his college career with a NCAA record-breaking 33 sacks and 70 tackles for loss. He graduated, in 2000, from Penn State with a Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Arts.

Awards and honors

• 2× First-team All-Big Ten (1998–1999)
• Consensus First-team All-American (1999)
• Big Ten Lineman of the Year (1999)
• Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (1999)
• Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalist (1999)
• Chuck Bednarik Award finalist (1999)
• Lombardi Award finalist (1999)
• 1999 Outback Bowl MVP

Professional career

Pre-draft

At the Penn State pro day Brown measured 6'4⅞" 271-pounds, ran a 4.52 seconds forty-yard dash, had a vertical leap of 37" and bench-pressed 225 pounds 26 times.^[1]

Cleveland Browns

Brown was drafted by the Browns first overall in the 2000 NFL Draft, making him the eleventh defensive lineman to be taken first overall in the 70-plus year history of the NFL Draft. Brown had a productive rookie season, recording 70 total tackles and 4.5 sacks. His second season was cut short due to injury, but Brown recorded 4.5 sacks in 5 games. Brown had problems staying healthy for the rest of his career, and struggled on the field. During 2002-2004, Brown only played in 26 games and recorded just 8 sacks.

Denver Broncos

In the summer of 2005, Brown signed with the Denver Broncos. In his first season with the Broncos, Brown had 24 tackles and 2 sacks as a backup. Brown became a focal point on defense during the Broncos push through the playoffs. Brown and the Broncos would come one game short of the Super Bowl falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers. After the departure of Trevor Pryce, Brown was expected to take a bigger role in the Broncos' defense. On March 10, 2006, Brown signed a contract extension worth $745,000 with a signing bonus of $1.55 million.^[2]

However, Brown tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the 2006 preseason. He was placed on the team's injured reserve for the entire 2006 season. On March 19, 2007, Brown was cut by the team after failing a physical. In an article in The Rocky Mountain News, it was revealed Denver coach Mike Shanahan suggested to Brown that he retire from football.^[3]

References

1. ^ King, Peter. (04-17-2000). Mum's His Word Sports Illutrated.com. Retrieved 12-24-2009.
2. ^ [1] USA Today.com Retrieved 01-15-2005.
3. ^ [2] Rocky Mountain News.com Retrieved 11-15-2006.

External links

• Denver Broncos bio

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Tim Couch	1st Overall Pick in NFL Draft 2000	Succeeded by Michael Vick

Persondata
Name	Brown, Courtney
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 14, 1978
Place of birth	Charleston, South Carolina
Date of death
Place of death