Alex James Brown (born June 4, 1979) is an American former
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
who played in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) for nine seasons. He played
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...
, and was a two-time
All-American
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
. The
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
picked Brown in the fourth round of the
2002 NFL draft
The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted ...
, and he also played for the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
.
Early life
Brown was born in
Jasper, Florida in 1979.
[National Football League, Historical Players]
Alex Brown
Retrieved March 17, 2012. He attended Hamilton County High School in Jasper,
[databaseFootball.com, Players, . Alex attended South Hamilton Elementary school. Alex played football and basketball under coach Chuck Fultz. Retrieved March 16, 2011.] and played high school football for the Hamilton County Trojans.
[GatorZone.com, Football History, 2001 Roster]
. Retrieved March 24, 2011. As the Trojans' senior quarterback in 1996, Brown threw for 863 yards and four touchdowns, and rushed for 767 yards and eighteen touchdowns; as a starting linebacker, he also compiled 117 total tackles (with seven tackles for loss), five blocked passes, four fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and two blocked field goals.
[ He was honored as a Florida Class 3A all-state selection and a National Recruiting Adviser and SuperPrep high school All-American.][ Brown was also a standout basketball player and track and field athlete, and was the state champion discus thrower in 1996.][
]
College career
Brown accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...
in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier
Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nicknam ...
's Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American football, American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...
team from 1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
to 2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
.
2012 Florida Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 77, 84, 88, 89, 92, 93, 95, 97, 100, 104, 116, 158, 176, 185 (2012). Retrieved September 15, 2012. The Gators coaching staff decided to red-shirt him as a true freshman in 1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
.[ He saw action at ]outside linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the lin ...
in 1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
, recording ten tackles with two sacks and three tackles for a loss as the backup to All-American starter Jevon Kearse
Jevon Kearse (born September 3, 1976), nicknamed "the Freak", is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) during the late 1990s and 2000s. Kearse played col ...
.[
As a sophomore starter in ]1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
, Brown recorded fifty-six tackles with 7.5 sacks and twelve tackles for a loss.[ Arguably, he played his best college game on September 18, 1999, when he sacked ]quarterback
The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
Tee Martin five times in the Gators' 23–21 upset of the second-ranked Tennessee Volunteers
The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...
.[ He was honored as first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection and first-team ]All-American
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
by the Walter Camp Foundation and ''Football News'', and was one of the twelve semi-finalists for the Lombardi Award
The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lombard ...
.[
During the Gators' ]2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
SEC championship season, Brown was a team captain and started every game at right defensive end, recording fifty tackles with 10.5 sacks, fourteen tackles for a loss and four blocked passes, while forcing a fumble and blocking three kicks.[ Brown was a first-team All-SEC selection, a second-team ]All-American
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
, and was once again one of the twelve semi-finalists for the Lombardi Award.[
As a senior in ]2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
, Brown recorded forty-five tackles and a career-best thirteen sacks.[ He was a first-team All-SEC selection, and was recognized as a consensus first-team ]All-American
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
, after receiving first-team honors from a majority of All-American selector organizations.[ He was also the 2001 SEC Defensive Player of the Year, one of the four finalists for the Lombardi Award, and one of five finalists of the ]Bronko Nagurski Trophy
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athle ...
.[
During his four-year college career, Brown totaled 161 tackles with forty-seven tackles for a loss (sixth-best career total in Gators history), and set the Gators' current career record of thirty-three quarterback sacks.][ He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2012.
]
Professional career
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears selected Brown in the fourth round (104th pick overall) of the 2002 NFL draft
The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted ...
, and he played for the Bears from to .[ As a rookie, he started nine of the fifteen games in which he played at right defensive end and logged 2.5 quarterback sacks.] He also totaled 40 tackles (31 unassisted) and three passes broken up, while also contributing on special teams coverage.[ During the season, his first as a full-time starter, he led the Bears with 5.5 sacks, with a career-high fifty-eight tackles (forty-nine solos), and six tackles for losses while forcing two fumbles and recovering a fumble.][
He started at right defensive end for all sixteen regular season games in , and compiling six sacks and fifty tackles, with eleven tackles for a loss and nine passes defensed.][ In a game against the ]New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
on November 7, 2004, Brown recorded a career-high four sacks to go along with eight tackles, including six solos stops. He also forced a fumble and batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage. For his efforts, Brown was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Week by ''Pro Football Weekly
''Pro Football Weekly'' (sometimes shortened to ''PFW'') is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, and website that covers the National Football League (NFL). It was owned by Pro Football Weekly LLC and headquartered in Riverwoods, Illin ...
''.
Brown was a first-alternate for the Pro Bowl after recording 75 tackles (nine for a loss) and six sacks, eight broken up passes and three forced fumbles during the season.[ '']Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
'' selected him for its All-Pro Team. He was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week following the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...
on November 27, 2005. In 2006, he was selected as a second-alternate for the Pro Bowl after recording a career-high seven sacks and two interceptions while making forty-six tackles, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two passes broken up while starting all sixteen games at right defensive end.[
In Brown tied for the team lead with five passes broken up, tied for second with five tackles for a loss and two fumble recoveries and tied for third with two forced fumbles, after playing in all sixteen games (two starts) for the fifth straight year, extending his consecutive games played streak to a team-high ninety-five contests. He ranked second on the defensive line with fifty-eight tackles and added five quarterback hits, 4.5 sacks, one interception, two forced fumbles and a blocked kick.
On December 22, 2008, Brown deflected a ]field goal
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...
attempt by Packers kicker Mason Crosby in the final twenty-five seconds of the fourth quarter to set up the game-winning field goal for the Bears in a 20–17 overtime victory over the Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
. In the second game of the season, the Bears upset the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers 17–14, and Brown recorded two key sacks of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger
Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...
. Brown was later carted off the field with four minutes left in the game with a sprained ankle.
After the 2009 season, the Bears released Brown on April 1, 2010, after failing to trade him to another team.
New Orleans Saints
On April 7, 2010, the New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
signed Brown to a two-year contract. He played his final NFL season for the Saints, starting in all sixteen games at left defensive end.[ The Saints released Brown on August 30, 2011.
]
Retirement
On August 9, 2012, Alex Brown signed a one-day contract with the Bears to officially retire with the team. With the Bears, his 43.5 sacks rank fourth in team history, and his five interceptions rank second behind Richard Dent
Richard Lamar Dent (born December 13, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Chicago Bears. He was the MVP of the Super Bowl XX. He was elected ...
among Bears defensive ends.[http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=8961]
In his nine-season NFL career, Brown played in 143 regular season games, started 123 of them, and compiled 421 tackles, 43.5 quarterback sacks, forty-two deflected passes, seventeen forced fumbles with twelve recovered, and five interceptions.[
]
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Playoffs
Life after football
Brown works for Coyote Logistics.
Brown is an analyst for the 120 Sports "Football Fix" in Chicago. He, former Bears teammate Desmond Clark, and "non-descript white guy" Ryan Steele also host the ''Dez Clark & Alex Brown Show'' sports radio talk show in Chicago. Following Bears games, Brown, David Kaplan, former teammate Lance Briggs, and former Bears head coach Dave Wannstedt serve as analysts for NBC Sports Chicago
NBC Sports Chicago (formerly Comcast SportsNet Chicago) was an American regional sports network that broadcast regional coverage of professional sports teams in the Chicago Chicago metropolitan area, metropolitan area, as well as college sports ...
's ''Football Aftershow''.
He is a Republican precinct committeeman in Vernon Hills, Illinois
Vernon Hills is a suburb north of Chicago, Illinois in Lake County, Illinois, Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 26,850 at the 2020 census. Vernon Hills serves as a retail hub for its surrounding area (Libertyville, Illinois ...
where he resides with his wife, Kari, who serves as a village trustee.
See also
* 1999 College Football All-America Team
The 1999 College Football All-America Team is composed of the following All-American Teams: Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Foundation, ''The Sporting News'', ''Pro F ...
* 2001 College Football All-America Team
* Florida Gators football, 1990–99
* List of Chicago Bears players
* List of Florida Gators football All-Americans
This list of Florida Gators football All-Americans includes those members of the Florida Gators football team who have received All-American honors from one or more selector organizations. The Florida Gators represent the University of Florida in ...
* List of Florida Gators in the NFL draft
* List of New Orleans Saints players
* List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
References
Bibliography
* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). .
* Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). .
* Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). .
External links
* – Florida Gators player profile
* – New Orleans Saints player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Alex
1979 births
Living people
All-American college football players
American football defensive ends
Florida Gators football players
Chicago Bears players
New Orleans Saints players
People from Jasper, Florida
Players of American football from Florida
21st-century American sportsmen
21st-century African-American sportsmen
20th-century American sportsmen
20th-century African-American sportsmen
Brian Piccolo Award winners