Spring Break
Brown leaves for NFL after bowl win
Kevin Duffy
Issue date: 1/20/09 Section: Sports
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The Huskies overcame five lost fumbles in the first half behind the play of junior tailback Donald Brown, who amassed 209 yards on the ground in the opening 30 minutes and finished the game with a career-high 261 rushing yards.
Following the game, Brown, who two weeks prior said he would return for his senior season, announced just the opposite when posed with a question about his decision to come back.
"You might as well tell them now, Donny," Edsall said.
"I'm not going to be returning [to UConn] next year," Brown said. "I'm going to pursue the NFL."
Brown, the second player in UConn's history to leave school early for the NFL (the first was reserve running back Cornell Brockington in 2006), rushed for a nation-leading 2,083 yards and 18 touchdowns this past season. His magnificent 2008 season was the No. 11 single-season rushing performance in Division I-A history, trailing the likes of Barry Sanders, LaDainian Tomlinson, Ricky Williams and Larry Johnson, all perennial All-Pros in the NFL.
ESPN draft expert Todd McShay ranks Brown as the No. 4 running back available in the 2008 NFL Draft, behind Georgia's Knowshon Moreno, Ohio State's Chris "Beanie" Wells and Pittsburgh's LeSean McCoy.
NFLDraftscout.com projects that Brown will come off the board between the early second round and late third round.
Wherever Brown lands, Edsall is confident that he'll make an instant impact.
"I told him I'll be his biggest fan as he moves forward," Edsall said. "I love the kid to death, and I know he's going to be very successful. Whoever is the team out there that will draft him, and take him, he's going to make that team better."
While Brown has received all of the headlines, he's not the only UConn player likely to hear his name called in April's NFL Draft.
Offensive tackle William Beatty, projected as the No. 26 overall selection in a mock draft on WalterFootball.com, may be selected ahead of Brown.
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