Tag: Ronnie Brown

Tommy Tuberville details how Ronnie Brown, Carnell Williams flipped Tennessee commitments to Auburn

Former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville detailed how the Tigers flipped both Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams from Tennessee commits.

(This post was originally published on Vols Wire.)

A pair of Auburn football legends, Ronnie Brown and Carnell Williams, left their mark on the Tigers’ program from 2000-04.

The running back duo finished their Auburn careers with an undefeated 2004 season and winning the Southeastern Conference championship.

Brown and Williams chose to play for Auburn after flipping their commitments from Tennessee.

Tennessee and Phillip Fulmer recruited Brown to play linebacker. After Brown committed to the Vols, then-Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville recruited him for a chance to play running back.

“Ronnie Brown had committed to Tennessee,” Tuberville said on the show “Tennessee Two-A-Days.” “They wanted him as a linebacker. We went and recruited him as a running back and got Ronnie and Carnell, so we were able to snag a couple away from Phillip, and made us a much better football team.”

Brown committed to Auburn and was part of the Tigers’ 2000 signing class. He redshirted during the 2000 season.

Williams followed suit in 2001 and was a tough task for Tuberville to flip the Etowah High School (Alabama) running back away from Tennessee.

“It was a battle, no doubt about it,” Tuberville said of Williams’ recruitment. “We were his last visit the week before signing day. We were just trying to hold on to the visit, much less get him to sign.”

Williams was committed to Tennessee, but always kept Alabama and Auburn in his top three schools. The Crimson Tide had a head coaching change from Mike DuBose to Dennis Franchione following the 2000 season, narrowing Williams’ choice to Tennessee and Auburn at the end.

“They had just changed at Alabama, which helped both with me and Phillip,” Tuberville said. “Eddie Gran, our running backs coach, had been recruiting him. Eddie is a great recruiter, good coach, and built a good relationship with him. Unfortunately, before he comes to us, Carnell commits to Phillip Fulmer on his visit and called me and Eddie Gran, and said ‘I am not taking my visit; I am going to Tennessee’.

“We just begged him to come — finally I said ‘Carnell, at least let me come see you and visit with you’. He said ‘OK, Coach, I’ll see you Monday afternoon, after school.’ I took every coach with me — boys we are loading up. We flew up to where Carnell was at, and I took every coach. I actually took a picture of Bo Jackson and put Carnell’s face on Bo’s picture holding the Heisman Trophy. I think with all of the attention that we gave him and his Mom, that we earned that visit that weekend. They all came, and, fortunately, he flipped and came to our place.”

On Feb. 7, 2001, Williams signed his National Letter of Intent to play for Auburn and Tuberville.

Brown was the No. 2 pick in the 2005 NFL draft, while Williams went No. 5 overall. Brown rushed for 2,735 yards and 28 touchdowns. Williams totaled 3,831 rushing yards and 45 touchdowns during his career at Auburn.

Tommy Tuberville details how Ronnie Brown, Carnell Williams flipped Tennessee commitments to Auburn

Tommy Tuberville details how Ronnie Brown, Carnell Williams flipped Tennessee commitments to Auburn.

A pair of Auburn football legends, Ronnie Brown and Carnell Williams, left their mark on the Tigers’ program from 2000-04.

The running back duo finished their Auburn careers with an undefeated 2004 season and winning the Southeastern Conference championship.

Brown and Williams chose to play for Auburn after flipping their commitments from Tennessee.

Oct 2, 2004; Knoxville, TN, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Tommy Tuberville greets Tennessee Volunteers head coach Phillip Fulmer at midfield of Neyland Stadium. The Auburn Tigers beat the Tennessee Vols 34-10. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports (©) Copyright 2004 by Matthew Emmons

Tennessee and Phillip Fulmer recruited Brown to play linebacker. After Brown committed to the Vols, then-Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville recruited him for a chance in playing running back.

“Ronnie Brown had committed to Tennessee,” Tuberville said on the show “Tennessee Two-A-Days.” “They wanted him as a linebacker. We went and recruited him as a running back and got Ronnie and Carnell, so we were able to snag a couple away from Phillip, and made us a much better football team.”

Brown committed to Auburn and was part of the Tigers’ 2000 signing class. He redshirted during the 2000 season.

Oct 2, 2004; Knoxville, TN, USA; Auburn Tigers #23 Ronnie Brown celebrates with the fans while leaving Neyland Stadium. Auburn Tigers beat the Tennessee Vols 34-10. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports (©) Copyright 2004 by Matthew Emmons

Williams followed suit in 2001 and was a tough task for Tuberville in flipping the Etowah High School (AL) running back away from Tennessee.

“It was a battle, no doubt about it,” Tuberville said of Williams’ recruitment. “We were his last visit the week before signing day. We were just trying to hold on to the visit, much less get him to sign.”

Williams was committed to Tennessee, but always kept Alabama and Auburn in his top three schools. The Crimson Tide had a head coaching change from Mike DuBose to Dennis Franchione following the 2000 season, narrowing Williams’ choice to Tennessee and Auburn at the end.

“They had just changed at Alabama, which helped both with me and Phillip,” Tuberville said. “Eddie Gran, our running backs coach, had been recruiting him. Eddie is a great recruiter, good coach, and built a good relationship with him. Unfortunately, before he comes to us, Carnell commits to Phillip Fulmer on his visit and called me and Eddie Gran, and said ‘I am not taking my visit, I am going to Tennessee’.

“We just begged him to come — finally I said ‘Carnell, at least let me come see you and visit with you’. He said ‘okay Coach, I’ll see you Monday afternoon, after school’. I took every coach with me — boys we are loading up. We flew up to where Carnell was at, and I took every coach. I actually took a picture of Bo Jackson and put Carnell’s face on Bo’s picture holding the Heisman Trophy. I think with all of the attention that we gave him and his Mom, that we earned that visit that weekend. They all came, and fortunately he flipped and came to our place.”

Oct 2, 2004; Knoxville, TN, USA;University of Auburn #24 Carnell Williams stiff arms University of Tennessee #35 Jason Mitchell at Haslam Field.Mandatory Credit: Photo by Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports (©) Copyright 2004 by Matthew Emmons

On Feb. 7, 2001, Williams signed his National Letter of Intent to play for Auburn and Tuberville.

Brown was the No. 2 pick in the 2005 NFL draft, while Williams went No. 5 overall. Brown rushed for 2,735 yards and 28 touchdowns. Williams totaled 3,831 rushing yards and 45 touchdowns during his career at Auburn.

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Shea’s Favorite Auburn Games: No. 6 -Tigers vs LSU 2004

It was a defensive battle when the two Tigers met up in Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2004.

[jwplayer AWBAMRau]

I can’t even lie, y’all. I’m stressing about football already. It’s a dreadful feeling that I’m elated to finally experience again. Here’s the continuation of my countdown to kickoff.

Number 6: Auburn vs LSU 2004

I was 10 when this game occurred and I had no idea how football was supposed to work. All I knew was that my dad was going down to the game and told me to look for him on TV. I’d already tried to locate my dad once before when he went down to Talladega and was unsuccessful in my efforts. I was pretty skeptical that I would be able to locate my father at an Auburn football game, but with all of my ‘Where’s Waldo?’ and ‘I Spy’ expertise I felt pretty confident about giving it a shot.

I think my dad telling me to look for him on the TV was secretly his was of getting me to watch the game because it worked. I was fixated on the screen wondering when the cameras would pan to the crowd. I gave up on this probably five minutes after I began watching, and then I became obsessed over learning the game.

At the time my sister’s bedroom had been somewhat converted into a play room (she was at school in Southern Illinois, shoutout to the Salukis) and her room was so cool because it had a TV in it. My mom was downstairs watching her own shows, so anytime the crowd in Jordan Hare went nuts I ran to the top of the stairwell and started shouting random questions.

“MOM, SOME GUY ON THE OTHER TEAM JUST RAN INSIDE OF A MAGIC RECTANGLE AND EARNED 6 TOKENS WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?”

“Shea, that’s a touchdown.”

“MOM THIS GUY ON THE OTHER TEAM TRIED KICKING THE BALL LIKE A NEW YORK CITY ROCKETTE AND NOW THE ENTIRE STADIUM IS GOING BANANAS! WHAT’S GOING ON!?”

“Shea, he has to kick the football in between those two poles after his team scores a touchdown. He kicked the ball horribly and it didn’t go in which is a good thing for Auburn.”

“MOMMM NOW ONE OF OUR GUYS KICKED THE BALL LIKE A ROCKETTE AND WE GOT THREE POINTS!”

“Great, that’s a field goal.”

You can imagine how the rest of these questions went, but she answered all of them. By the beginning of the fourth quarter I was yearning for an Auburn touchdown. I knew that meant that a guy in a blue uniform had to run into the “magic rectangle” which I now refer to as the end zone.

Ronnie Brown had an amazing 20-yard run and I just knew Auburn was going to win the game once the Tigers converted on 4th and 12 with a 14 yard catch by Courtney Taylor.

I wasn’t aware that Anthony Mix fumbled the ball on the play prior to Auburn’s game winning touchdown. I was too busy actively learning the game and all I was looking for was a touchdown. Thank you, Courtney Taylor for giving us this.

My dad called us when the game was over. He was hoarse. I definitely didn’t see him on TV but if there’s one thing we all know about Jordan Hare, it’s that every voice is amplified. I excitedly told him about how I watched the entire game and that I’d learned what touchdowns, field goals, punts, and first downs were.

One month later my dad took me to Auburn to catch the Tigers’ game against Arkansas. We’d been to several Auburn games before, but this one was special. I came to the realization when we were walking to Toomer’s Corner after that game that I was no longer just an Auburn fan, I was head-over-heels in love with everything about Auburn.

And to think, it all began 16 years ago when Auburn defeated LSU.

Ronnie Brown to be inducted into Alabama Sports Hall of Fame

The Auburn legend spent 10 seasons in the NFL.

Ronnie Brown had one of the most successful running back careers at Auburn, rushing for 2,707 yards and 28 touchdowns in his four seasons.

For those efforts and his long NFL career, Brown will be inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame next Saturday.

MORE: Auburn football: Ranking the running backs on 2020 depth chart

In 10 seasons with five different NFL teams, Brown rushed for 5,391 yards and 38 touchdowns while catching 246 passes for 1,966 yards and two more scores. During the 2008 season with the Miami Dolphins, Brown helped make the Wildcat formation, where the running back would take a direct snap from the center, popular.

Frank Gore had to overcome 2 ACL tears before becoming the model for NFL longevity

Frank Gore had multiple ACL injuries in college and was defined by them early in his career and is proving critics wrong by still playing.

There comes a time when every athlete has to call it quits, but that day has yet to arrive for Frank Gore.

The soon to be 37-year-old is entering his 16th NFL season after signing with the Jets, which will tie him for the most seasons played by a running back along with Marcus Allen. Gore is third on the all-time rushing list with 15,347 yards, a five-time Pro Bowler and has made it to the Super Bowl. Simply put, there have been few running backs as accomplished as him.

And yet, there was plenty of doubt Gore could make it in the pros, let alone defy Father Time at one of the NFL’s most bruising positions.

Gore suffered two different ACL injuries to his left knee while at the University of Miami. The first one came in March 2002 in one of the Hurricanes’ spring practices. That led to Willis McGahee becoming the starting running back for Miami that season, despite Gore beating him out for the job. The next tear came in October 2003 in a game against West Virginia.

Gore came back for his junior season, however, and put together the best year of his career. He led the team in carries (197), rushing yards (945) and rushing touchdowns (10). That was all Gore needed to put his name in the 2005 NFL Draft.

General managers had their concerns over Gore’s injury history, though. It didn’t help that his 40-yard dash time was a less-than-ideal 4.66 seconds and his weight was a tad high at 208 pounds. Gore also scored a six on the 50-question Wonderlic intelligence test, too, which led some to believe that he wasn’t smart enough to play in the NFL.

That combination had some teams looking the other way on Gore. Five running backs were picked ahead of him by the time he was picked 65th overall by the 49ers. That included Ronnie Brown, Cedric Benson, Cadillac Williams, J.J. Arrington and Eric Shelton.

“Me going through all the injuries, and then when I get to the league just hearing all the negative stuff, I set my goals and said I’ll never let a man judge me,” Gore told NFL.com. “The only man I’ll let judge me is that man up above. But I was determined to be the best in my class.”

Not only is Gore the best running back in his class, but he’s lasted longer than any of them on is way to becoming one of the best backs of all-time. Even after NFL GMs didn’t think his knees would hold up and even after he had major surgery on both his shoulders after his rookie season, Gore continued to work. Let’s not forget about the fractured hip he suffered in 2010 or the ankle injuries that he’s dealt with or the broken foot he suffered while with the Dolphins. He’s proved everyone wrong and is still playing productive football.

When Gore’s career is all done, his next stop will be Canton. When it comes to time to make his speech, he should take a minute to acknowledge all the teams that passed on him.