The Daily Campus

Issue date: 1/4/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Ryan Sayers Donald Brown accepts the International Bowl's MVP award.

Media Credit: Ryan Sayers Coach Randy Edsall congratulates Brown after a run. Brown ran for 261 yards Saturday in the final game of his UConn career. He declared for the NFL draft in a post-game press conference.

TORONTO - For the first time all season, Donald Brown looked tired after a football game.

His undershirt wasn't spotless as usual. It was drenched in sweat and dirt. His pants didn't look brand new as they always did. They were littered with grass stains. Brown, who rushed for an astounding 2,083 yards and 19 touchdowns this season seemingly without getting winded, finally looked human.

He finally looked like the 29 carries had taken a toll on him. He looked as though a UConn's diverse playbook - Brown left, Brown right, Brown middle - caught up to him a bit. He even had tears in his eyes, a glossy look that silently conveyed that the junior tailback was more than the perfectly-oiled machine that powered UConn to an 8-5 record this past season.

Then someone dropped the inevitable question.

"You might as well tell them now, Donny," said UConn coach Randy Edsall.

Brown took a deep breath, chuckled nervously and let everyone know what he was so emotional about.

"I'm not going to be returning [to UConn] next year," he said. "I'm going to pursue the NFL."

Brown's decision, which was practically was a "he has to" situation rather than a "he wants to" situation given the incredible season he had and the short career-spans of running backs, is sure to rattle the UConn football team. The 2009 Huskies will not be able to "just hand it to No. 34" and watch him go, as quarterback Tyler Lorenzen admittedly has done all season. The news of Brown's early departure will jolt the pigskin faithful in Storrs. But, sadly, as Edsall pointed out in the postgame press conference, it won't mean much to anyone outside of the rural eastern Connecticut town.

For all his success this season, for all the broken tackles and long touchdown scampers and tough yards after contact, Brown has received essentially zero national recognition.

The nation's only 2,000-yard rusher was left off the final ballot for the Doak Walker award, annually given to the nation's most outstanding running back. The Associated Press left him off their 1st team All-America squad.

A Google search of his name yields this front-page result: "Some guy named Donald Brown leads country in rushing."

During the press conference, a reporter - presumably a local sportswriter from Toronto - directed a question toward the star running back just prior to his not-so-shocking announcement to turn pro.

"How much credit do you give to your offensive line for your performance today, Robert?" the reporter asked.

Brown laughed.

"His name is Donald," Edsall interjected.

Brown went on to answer the question with his usual short, to-the-point and almost boring response that so starkly contrasts the remarkable flair he possesses on-the-field. It was almost as though he expected it. It seemed like the most dominant running back in college football had learned to accept invisibility.

"It's a darn shame that the young man isn't going to get the attention that he so richly deserves," Edsall said. "I've [coached] in the NFL, in all my years at college, I've never seen someone who works as hard as him or takes care of his body like him. It's incredible."

And so he went. Brown's last press conference at UConn ended, and a handful of reporters who followed Brown's every step for the past two years followed him out one last time. Each one offered congratulations and squeezed in one last question. Brown smiled and put on his automated response: "My offensive line opened big holes today, anyone could have run through them" and so on and so forth. Then, in an instant, he was gone.

The nation's leading rusher left his legacy behind as he strolled onto the field to converse with his teammates and relatives who came to watch his final collegiate game. Within the UConn football family, it was a legacy that will be remembered forever. And that's what matters most to Brown - the UConn football family.

"It was the hardest decision I've ever had to make," he said.

As Edsall put it, "UConn gave a lot to Donald and Donald gave even more to UConn."

This time next year, Brown will have a whole new family and whole new group of teammates. He's ready for the NFL, but the NFL might not be ready for Robert Brown. Um, Donald Brown, I mean. Whatever his name is, the world will learn soon enough.

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