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|years=1999<br />2000-2001<br />2002<br />2002<br />2003<br />2003-2004<br />2008
|years=1999<br />2000-2001<br />2002<br />2002<br />2003<br />2003-2004<br />2008
|teams=[[Texas Terminators]]<br />[[Nashville Kats]]<br />[[Scottish Claymores]]<br />[[San Jose SaberCats]]<br />[[Frankfurt Galaxy]]<br />[[Georgia Force]]<br />[[CenTex Barracudas]]
|teams=[[Texas Terminators]]<br />[[Nashville Kats]]<br />[[Scottish Claymores]]<br />[[San Jose SaberCats]]<br />[[Frankfurt Galaxy]]<br />[[Georgia Force]]<br />[[CenTex Barracudas]]

|coaching_years = 2004-2006<br>2010-present
|coaching_teams = [[Hyde Park Baptist High School]] <br> [[Lamar University]] (RB)
|Career Highlights=Y
|Career Highlights=Y
|Awards=1995 [[Southwest Conference|SWC]] Offensive<br /> Player of the Year
|Awards=1995 [[Southwest Conference|SWC]] Offensive<br /> Player of the Year
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|CollegeHOF=
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'''James Brown''' (born May 17, 1975) is a former [[American football]] [[quarterback]]. He was the [[Starting lineup|starting]] quarterback of the [[University of Texas at Austin|Texas]] [[Texas Longhorns football|Longhorns]] from 1994 to 1997. At the time, he was only the second [[African American|black]] quarterback to guide Texas through an entire season (after [[Donnie Little]] in 1978), and is credited for "opening doors" for future black quarterbacks at Texas, such as [[Vince Young]].<ref>[http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1995/vp951229/12290676.htm Brown's QB success with Texas has opened doors for blacks]</ref>
'''James Brown''' (born May 17, 1975) is a former [[American football]] [[quarterback]]. He was the [[Starting lineup|starting]] quarterback of the [[University of Texas at Austin|Texas]] [[Texas Longhorns football|Longhorns]] from 1994 to 1997. At the time, he was only the second [[African American|black]] quarterback to guide Texas through an entire season (after [[Donnie Little]] in 1978), and is credited for "opening doors" for future black quarterbacks at Texas, such as [[Vince Young]].<ref>[http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1995/vp951229/12290676.htm Brown's QB success with Texas has opened doors for blacks]</ref>

Revision as of 04:47, 14 January 2014

For the offensive tackle of the same name, see James Brown (offensive lineman).
James Brown
Date of birth (1975-05-17) May 17, 1975 (age 49)
Place of birthBeaumont, Texas
Career information
Position(s)Quarterback
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight200 lb (91 kg)
US collegeTexas
Career highlights and awards
Awards1995 SWC Offensive
Player of the Year 1997 Blue-Gray All Star Game MVP

James Brown (born May 17, 1975) is a former American football quarterback. He was the starting quarterback of the Texas Longhorns from 1994 to 1997. At the time, he was only the second black quarterback to guide Texas through an entire season (after Donnie Little in 1978), and is credited for "opening doors" for future black quarterbacks at Texas, such as Vince Young.[1]

Longhorns career

Brown was born in Beaumont, Texas to J.W. Brown and Julia Brown. [2] A West Brook Senior High School graduate, he came to UT as the state's top quarterback prospect, and, after redshirting in 1993, he went on to turn in a record-setting career. Brown finished with 30 Longhorn records, including passing yards (7,638), total offense (8,049) and touchdown passes (53). A team captain in 1997, Brown became the first Longhorn quarterback in 20 years to earn first-team All-Southwest Conference (SWC) honors (Marty Akins, 1975) en route to leading Texas to the final SWC Championship, a 10-2-1 record, and a berth in the Sugar bowl in 1995, where Texas lost to Virginia Tech 28-10. He was also named SWC Offensive Player of the Year that season. In 1996, Brown guided Texas through a late season surge that was capped off by a stunning upset of defending National Champion Nebraska in the inaugural Big 12 championship game. That was followed by a trip to a second straight Bowl Alliance game as the Longhorns went to the 1997 Fiesta Bowl. Brown's senior season in 1997 was a disappointment as the team went 4-7, including a loss to UCLA 66-3, and it resulted in the firing of head coach John Mackovick. But for Brown it was capped with a trip to the Blue-Gray All Star game where he was the game's MVP.

Roll Left

Perhaps the defining moment of his Texas career came in the aforementioned Big 12 title game. The Longhorns were clinging to a 30-27 lead late in the fourth quarter, but faced fourth-and-inches at their own 28-yard line. Texas coach John Mackovic decided to gamble for the first down, calling "roll left", a staple of the team's goal-line offense. The play called for Brown to fake to running back Priest Holmes and roll to his left. Before the play, Mackovic told him on the sidelines "come to run", intending for Brown to run for the first down, but the play included an option to pass if it was there. Brown took the snap, but as he rolled out, he saw his tight end Derek Lewis behind the Cornhuskers defense. He stopped and threw the ball to the wide-open Lewis, who ran down the sideline for a 61-yard gain. The Longhorns sealed the win and the Big 12 title when Holmes ran for a touchdown on the next play.[3]

After several years in pro football, he returned to Texas for his final semester and completed his coursework in sport management. He received his degree in December 2001.

College Statistics

  • 1994: 80/115 for 1,037 yards with 12 TD vs 2 INT. 127 yards and 2 TD rushing.
  • 1995: 163/322 for 2,447 yards with 19 TD vs 12 INT. 136 yards and 1 TD rushing.
  • 1996: 170/299 for 2,468 yards with 17 TD vs 12 INT. 119 yards and 2 TD rushing.
  • 1997: 133/267 for 1,676 yards with 5 TD vs 11 INT. 29 yards and 1 TD rushing.

Professional Career

Considered too small at 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m), overlooked because of the turmoil during his senior season and hurt by the coaching change after his last season, Brown was not picked up by any National Football League teams.[4] His first foray into professional football came when Brown signed with the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League in 1998, but he was cut after the preseason. [5]

He then signed with and led the Texas Terminators to the Indoor Professional Football League (IPFL) championship game in 1999 and was named the IPFL offensive player of the year. His performance earned him a spot in the Arena Football where he played for five seasons.[6]

In 2000[7] and 2001[8] he was the backup quarterback and a defensive back with the Nashville Kats, and with the Kats went to the ArenaBowl both seasons.

The next season he was waived by the Georgia Force before the season started, but he was later signed by his old Offensive Coordinator at Texas, Gene Dahlquist, to be the backup quarterback for the Scottish Claymores of the NFL Europe where he won his only start. He then returned to the Arena League where he spent the end of the season[9] on the roster of the San Jose Sabercats after Mark Grieb was injured. He was the backup to John Dutton for San Jose'’s playoff run, but did not play.[10] Ironically, Dutton had been Brown's backup at Texas and had transferred to Nevada after the 1995 season when it became clear he would not win the starting position.

In 2003 Brown was signed again by the Georgia Force, but he only played in two games before leaving the league for the NFL Europe, but he started the second game in place of the injured Donnie Davis and led the team to an upset win over San Jose becoming the game's MVP. Three days later he left the team to join the Scottish Claymores[11], but instead wound up as the starter of the Frankfurt Galaxy.

As the co-starting quarterback for the Galaxy along with Quinn Gray, Brown led the Galaxy to a 6-4 record, the division title and the league championship in World Bowl XI.[12]. World Bowl XI would be his last game in the NFL Europe. He was then released by Georgia before the 2004 Arena League season, though they resigned him halfway through the 2004 season as a WR/DB and he was used sparingly.[13]

After several years away from playing, he was preparing to play for the All American Football League which never materialized and was then signed in 2008 by the CenTex Barricudas of the Intense Football League as a midseason replacement and led the team to six wins in eight games and a spot in the league semifinals.

Coaching Career

Brown started his coaching career as the Offensive Coordinator at Hyde Park Baptist High School from 2004-2006 and then in 2010 became the Running backs coach for Lamar University in Beaumont, TX.[14] In addition, during his time with San Jose, he was the Player Coach. [15]

References

  1. ^ Brown's QB success with Texas has opened doors for blacks
  2. ^ "High Stakes Gambler". Sports Illustrated Vault. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  3. ^ "Great Games & Moments: 1990s". Texas Longhorns Football History. The University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
  4. ^ http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/118/catching-up-with-james-brown
  5. ^ http://www.texnews.com/1998/texsports/aust0812.html
  6. ^ http://www.arenafan.com/players/James_Brown-2352/
  7. ^ http://www.arenafan.com/teams/Nashville_Kats-36/history/2000/
  8. ^ http://www.arenafan.com/teams/Nashville_Kats-36/history/2001/
  9. ^ http://www.arenafan.com/teams/?page=transactions&type=old&team=25
  10. ^ http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=1985209M
  11. ^ http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=1985969
  12. ^ [1]
  13. ^ http://www.arenafan.com/teams/?page=transactions&type=old&team=36
  14. ^ http://www.lamarcardinals.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/brown_james00.html
  15. ^ [2]


Preceded by University of Texas Quarterback
1994–1997 		Succeeded by

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