Tag: Alex Brown

Three former Gators included on College Football Hall of Fame ballot

This trio of former Gators has a chance to join collegiate football immortality.

The National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame announced on Monday its ballot for this year’s class and included a trio of former Gators on its list.

Defensive lineman [autotag]Alex Brown[/autotag], defensive tackle [autotag]Brad Culpepper[/autotag] and head coach [autotag]Urban Meyer[/autotag] all got the nod in this edition.

The program has produced 14 Hall of Famers — 10 players and four coaches — including UF legend [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag], who was inducted both as a player and a coach. The last UF alumnus to receive the honor was quarterback [autotag]Tim Tebow[/autotag] as part of the 2023 class.

The 2025 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be announced in early 2025. The class will be officially inducted during the 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 9, 2025, at the Bellagio Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, and they will also be honored at their respective schools with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute during the 2025 season.

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Florida’s sack leader is ESPN’s top late-round find in NFL draft history

This monstrous pass-rusher was one of the best-ever later-round draft finds.

The 2023 NFL draft is coming up in a week and ahead of the spring festivities the national media has been looking at both the upcoming draft class as well as the history behind the amateur selection process for the tastiest stories.

The University of Florida has the distinction of being the only school to have a player drafted in each year of the common era — even during the dog days of the program. The Orange and Blue have also had a player selected in the first round in the past three drafts and nine of the last 10 years.

ESPN’s staff recently broke down the top late-round find for every Power 5 school dating back to 1994, with Florida Gators defensive end [autotag]Alex Brown[/autotag] earning the nod. Here is what Harry Lyles Jr. had to offer on the terrifying pass-rusher.

Alex Brown, DE (2002, fourth round, 104th overall, Chicago)

Being the most prolific pass-rusher in Florida history (Brown holds the school record for the most sacks in a season with 13 and the most in a career with 33), you’d think Brown would at worst go in the first three rounds of the draft. But as Brown himself would say, it all worked out in the end, as he played nine years for the Chicago Bears and had 45.5 sacks, forced 17 fumbles — recovering 12 — and even finished sixth in the AP Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2005.

This year’s NFL draft kicks off on Thursday, April 27 at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, with the first round starting at 8 p.m. EDT. Round 2 begins on Friday at 7 p.m. EDT and the remaining rounds 4-7 start at noon EDT on Saturday. The events can be followed on ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes and the NFL Network.

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Ex-Lions CB Alex Brown sentenced to 4 months for 2021 accident

Former Detroit Lions cornerback Alex Brown has been sentenced to four months in jail after 2021 non-fatal car accident.

Former Detroit Lions cornerback Alex Brown has been sentenced to four months after being charged with drunk driving that injured teammate Charlie Taumoepeau and the other vehicle’s driver.

Brown and Taumoepeau signed with the Lions in 2021 after impressing the Lions staff during rookie tryouts. Unfortunately, that was short-lived after Brown caused an accident after driving the wrong way down the interstate in Detroit, causing a non-fatal crash.

Afterward, he entered a no contest plea and received two years of probation, $778 in court costs and fines, and had two counts of reckless driving causing serious impairment and one count of operating under the influence causing serious injury dismissed.

During the process, it was found Brown had a blood alcohol level of .211 on a portable breathalyzer and was so drunk he had no idea where he was.

It was one of the first tests of the newly formed Holmes-Campbell to see how they handled the situation. Rightfully, Brown was released, while Taumoepeau was waived with a non-football injury designation.

After the accident, Coach Campbell addressed the team, used this situation as a teachable moment about the seriousness of these situations, and spoke of the situation after it occurred.

“It was an awful incident and an awful accident. It’s something certainly we don’t condone and we brought it up. It’s one of those eye-openers. It’s not OK to jump in a car after you drink because bad things happen. That’s what Uber’s out there for. Don’t even take your car when you know you’re going out, just Uber to go out there and Uber to come home. So, it’s an awful accident and I’m praying for Charlie. It’s like he’s getting out of the woods here, but this is tough,” Campbell said in 2021.

Watch: 2 players the Lions should not draft

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Here’s why LB Brenton Cox Jr. decided to return to Florida

Brenton Cox Jr. is hoping to a have a season for the record books in his final year as a Gator.

Brenton Cox Jr. could have gone to the NFL after finishing 2021 with 8.5 sacks and a third-round grade as a draft prospect. Instead, he decided to return to the University of Florida for his redshirt senior season under new head coach Billy Napier.

It’s clear that Cox feels he has unfinished business with the Gators, but there’s a bit more to it than just improving on his stats from last season. He has his sights on the sack record (13) at Florida, according to Gators Online.

“I’m going for a sack every half, so if I do that, I’m going to pass those numbers,” Cox said. “But right now, I’m just trying to beat the sack record so just going out there and playing hard every play.”

Racking up 24 sacks would be quite the feat, but 13 doesn’t seem too ridiculous for Cox. The 8.5 that he put up last year came while he was recovering from foot surgery and fairly banged up throughout the year. Now he’s healthy and under the guidance of [autotag]Mike Peterson[/autotag], who had plenty of sacks during his time in the NFL.

“He has all the skills,” Peterson said. “This guy’s strong, he’s powerful. He can run, he can rush the passer. Right now my thing is to kind of polish his game to help him learn the game.”

Cox has already noticed a difference after working with Peterson for just a few weeks. By the time the season rolls around, [autotag]Alex Brown[/autotag] may want to check the record books one more time just in case Cox lives up to his word.

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Video: Breaking down Don Muhlbach’s release, Jahlani Tavai’s roster chances and more

Lions training camp breakdown on Don Muhlbach’s release, Jahlani Tavai’s chances, Levi Onwuzurike’s return, D’Andre Swift’s injury and more

A lot has happened in Lions land over the last few days. From a car accident that injured a player to a venerable veteran being relieved of his duties, it’s been a busy week in Allen Park.

Instead of trying to write up separate thoughts on so many of the cuts, releases and injuries, I decided to talk through them all in a video. I offered up my more expansive thoughts on Don Muhlbach’s career, Levi Onwuzurike’s return from a back injury, the roster cutdowns and more.

Thanks to the Detroit Lions Podcast for editing and posting these as a bonus vlog episode.

Report: Ex-Lions CB Alex Brown to be charged in accident that injured teammate Charlie Taumoepeau

The Lions released Brown on Sunday, hours after the alleged incident that caused Charlie Taumoepeau’s non-football injury

It seemed quite strange for the Lions to waive tight end Charlie Taumoepeau with a non-football injury designation on Monday. Taumoepeau played for the Lions in the preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills on Friday night and didn’t appear to suffer any malady.

Now there is clarity on the situation. And it’s not good news.

Per a report from Justin Rogers of the Detroit News, Taumoepeau suffered a neck injury when he was involved in a car accident early Sunday. The driver of the car in which Taumoepeau was a passenger was teammate Alex Brown, who now faces multiple charges including driving under the influence and driving the wrong way on a divided highway.

Brown was released by the Lions on Sunday afternoon.

We’ll update this story as details further unfold.

Lions waive CB Alex Brown

The Detroit Lions began their roster cutdown from 90 to 85 by waiving CB Alex Brown

With a roster cutdown from 90 players to just 85 due by Tuesday, the Detroit Lions got an early start. The team waived cornerback Alex Brown on Sunday afternoon.

Brown played just 11 snaps in the preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills. He had been with the Lions since the rookie minicamp, where he had a successful tryout. Brown did have some NFL experience after playing briefly for the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2019.

Brown was one of the players projected to get cut before Tuesday’s deadline. The Lions have several promising young cornerbacks who bumped Brown off, including UDFA rookies A.J. Parker and Jerry Jacobs. With Mike Ford moving back outside after the signing of slot CB Nickell Robey-Coleman, the position overload made Brown the easy victim of a numbers game.

 

Predicting the first 5 cuts for the Lions after the preseason opener

The Lions have until Tuesday afternoon to cut 5 players. Here are the most likely candidates.

The NFL has brought back the concept of having multiple roster cutdown days this preseason. The current 90-man roster whittles down to just 85 by August 17th, shortly after the first weekend of preseason action.

That gives head coach Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions until Tuesday to figure out which five players no longer belong with the team. Based on what I’ve seen in Lions camp and what everyone saw in the preseason opener, a tough loss to the Buffalo Bills on Friday night, here are the five players most likely to get cut.

Some of the cuts depend on the philosophy of the Lions. Does the new regime loaded with ex-players as coaches do a favor for veterans who aren’t going to make the final roster and cut them now, so they can find a new team with some time to actually make something of the opportunity? Will they hold onto raw youngsters whose destiny is an aspirational spot on the practice squad, or do they place more value on favoring more likely 2021 contributors?

Injuries and depth across position groups also matter. The Lions aren’t likely to waive any running backs in the first wave simply because they need the healthy bodies to take reps in practices with D’Andre Swift and Jermar Jefferson slowed with minor injuries.

Because it’s a new regime and we haven’t seen how they handle those philosophical debates, it’s hard to project the five who will be cut. But there’s a very good chance the quintet will come from the following eight players:

  • Evan Boehm, guard/center
  • Alex Brown, cornerback
  • Miles Brown, defensive tackle
  • Scott Daly, long snapper
  • P.J. Johnson, defensive tackle
  • Damion Ratley, wide receiver
  • Charlie Taumoepeau, tight end
  • Hunter Thedford, tight end

Any injuries would obviously supersede cuts, and that includes Boehm, who left the Bills game with an apparent knee injury.

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Lions sign 3 players from rookie minicamp tryouts

All participated in the team’s rookie minicamp over the weekend

The Detroit Lions held on-field tryouts over the weekend for five players as part of the team’s rookie minicamp. Three of the five tryout players earned contracts with the team on Monday.

The team announced it has signed cornerback Alex Brown, safety Alijah Holder and tight end Charlie Taumoepeau off the tryouts. All three are NFL veterans who were not retained by their teams after the 2002 season.

Brown, a 170-pound slot corner, played for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019. He missed the 2020 season on injured reserve. He was a 2019 undrafted free agent signing by Kansas City out of South Carolina State.

Taumoepeau is in his second NFL season out of Portland State. He had stints with three different teams in 2020, never elevating above the practice squad. The 240-pounder was last with the San Francisco 49ers.

Holder’s signing with the team was previously reported by his agent. The former Broncos safety also has the potential to play some outside CB as well as on special teams.

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Chiefs place DB Alex Brown on IR, re-sign WR Aleva Hifo

Two more transactions for the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

The Kansas City Chiefs made a handful of transactions on Sunday, including one move that was suspected to happen soon.

Andy Reid confirmed during his Sunday media availability that DB Alex Brown tore his ACL at training camp. It’s the first major injury we’ve seen this offseason to go with a plethora of soft tissue injuries the Chiefs are currently dealing with. The team put Brown on the injured reserve list following his knee injury, effectively ending his season before it truly began. Brown was expected to contribute in a depth role after being active for the last six games of the 2019 season, including Super Bowl LIV.

In a corresponding move, the Chiefs re-signed undrafted free agent WR Aleva Hifo, who was waived in late July. Hifo was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list in July after reportedly testing positive for the coronavirus. Days later Hifo was removed from the list and waived from the team. He appears to be healthy and ready to contribute after a bout with the virus.

The Chiefs are currently dealing with a variety of depth issues at tight end, cornerback and wide receiver due to minor injuries. With Sammy Watkins and Byron Pringle missing practice time, there were some available reps to go around for receivers. Hifo spent the offseason with the Chiefs, signing out of BYU following the 2020 NFL Draft. He knows the system and can jump in right away and contribute.

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