One of the most talented running backs in recent NC State history has got to be Andre Brown.
Brown had it all in college — power, speed, good football IQ and the mentality to succeed. While he was here, he backed up that talent too, rushing for 2,539 yards and 22 TDs on 523 carries during his college career. Those numbers may not seem gawdy, but keep in mind that Brown was sharing duties with Toney Baker, an equally talented and powerful back, and together they made quite a formidable combo rushing the football and that he was getting those numbers behind a makeshift offensive line that was best described as mediocre.
After his senior year, it would seem almost a given that Brown would take his skills up to the next level, where he’d become a superstar — but that’s where the injury bug bit Andre, and it has bitten him hard and on multiple occasions. Drafted by the New York Giants in 2009, he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon during training camp, which forced him to miss the entire season. After coming back from that injury, Brown became a journeyman: he was cut at the end of the Giants training camp the next season, went to the Broncos, where he was cut after only three carries in one appearance, was picked up and waived quickly by the Colts, Panthers and Redskins, all in the 2010-2011 seasons.
Brown was picked up — and cut again — by the Giants after that, and finally in September of last season was given his first real chance in a regular season game: an injury to Giants starter Ahmad Bradshaw forced Brown into service, and against Tampa Bay, Andre Brown the NFL player showed the same skills that Wolfpack fans saw on a regular basis here in Raleigh: he ran for 71 yards on 14 carries and scored the game winner for the Giants. He later backed that performance up in a nationally televised game in Charlotte against the Panthers, where he ran for 113 yards on 20 carries, and scored two touchdowns.
Things were looking up for Andre and it looked like he had finally found his place in the regular rotation behind Eli Manning. That was not to be, as the injury bug hit him once again, this time with a broken fibula against the Packers in November. Season over, Brown rehabbed once again, but once again had a broken leg in the final preseason game for the Giants, and once again, Andre Brown had to take a trip on Comeback Road.
Today, Andre Brown made that comeback: he ran the ball 28 times for 106 yards in what was supposed to be limited duty for the G-Men, and carried his team to a 24-20 victory over the Raiders on a raw autumn afternoon in the Meadowlands.
To my mind, this latest comeback by Brown shows the same grit and determination that carried him through college and through an NFL career that has seen too many trips to physical rehab specialists and doctors. It’s a great story for those who are paying attention to him, and I hope that he stays healthy for quite a long time and finally gets the chance to show NFL fans the same great ability and results that we enjoyed while he was wearing the red and white.
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