Names to Know - Donald Brown

After watching the NFL Scouting Combine on the NFL Network this weekend, I felt it would be good to prepare everyone for the draft in April when you hear a name and say, hey I know that guy...This "Name to Know" is Connecticut running back Donald Brown. The 5'10", 210lbs. Junior from New Jersey had an impressive 2008 campaign for the Huskies. He finished the season with 2083 yards rushing, which led the nation and 18 touchdowns. Impressive numbers, no matter what the conference his competition came from. The 2000+ season gave him over 4000 yards for his UCONN career. This had scouts giving him long looks during his bowl game appearance, which just happened to be in Toronto at the International Bowl, and he didn't disappoint. With a 261 yard rushing day and MVP game honours the International Bowl game set up him nicely for off season workouts that culminated with a great performance at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Although, we don't have his Wunderlic scores yet, his physical tests came back positive! Donald Brown came through with shining colours;

• 4.51 in the 40 yard dash (5th fastest time)
• 41.5" vertical jump (1st)
• 4.1o seconds in the 20 yard shuttle (2nd)
• 11.30 seconds in the 60 yard shuttle (1st)
• 10.05 feet in the broad jump (2nd)
• 6.93 seconds in the 3-Cone drill (8th)

So what can you expect from Brown when you see him play on Sunday's in September? He is a compact back, has great feet and a low centre of gravity, similar to Jacksonville Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew. Brown is a touchdown machine which will give him some good playing time and fantasy value for whichever team drafts him in the first round.

Some scouts have concerns over his size, being of smaller stature they may not seem him as a durable player or he might get labelled as a 3rd down back. They have also expressed a concern over his breakaway speed, but he has tried to put that to rest with long TD runs in the International Bowl and showing his speed in the 40yd dash beating fellow probable first round draftees Beanie Wells from Ohio State and Knowshon Moreno from Georgia. His only other knock is something he can do nothing about. Scouts are concerned that other UCONN prospects have failed at the NFL level. They believe the system that he played in contributed to his success. The offense at UCONN probably had something to do with his enormous rushing total, but no less so then some of the quarterbacks that are also in the draft. No matter what the offense, a running back still has to run hard, fight for the extra yard and have the vision to run to daylight. Brown's great feet and vision will take him far.

After all is said and done, Donald Brown is ranked as the number 19 prospect in the NFL Draft. He might not get drafted in the 19th spot by Bucs (but - not a bad choice for them), but expect him to be the third running back drafted behind Wells and Moreno. Brown's 2008 season compares almost exactly to the 2007 season of the 5th running back selected in last years draft. He was the 44th player taken in the draft, and has solidified the backfield of the Chicago Bears - Matt Forte who played his college football at Tulane University. If Brown turns in the same numbers as Forte in his first NFL season, scouts may not look at the school a player attended to predict his future - unless you are a basketball player at Duke, but that's another article.