Courtney Brown (defensive end)

For the current NFL cornerback, see Courtney Brown (cornerback). For other persons named Courtney Brown, see Courtney Brown.

Courtney Lanair Brown (born February 14, 1978) is a former defensive end for the Cleveland Browns & Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Browns first overall in the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at Penn State.

Early years

Growing up in Alvin, SC, Brown attended Macedonia High School and was an All-American linebacker his senior year. He also contributed on offense by playing tight end. Brown earned Gatorade Player-of-the-Year accolades in his senior year. He played in the Shrine Bowl. Brown was also an accomplished basketball star playing in the North/South All-Star game. Throughout his high school career, he maintained a 4.0 GPA.

College career

Courtney Brown attended Penn State from 1996-2000 where he was teammates with LaVar Arrington and Brandon Short. In 1999, he was a consensus First-team All-American and was named First-team All-Big Ten. Brown earned the defensive player of the year award and defensive linemen of the year award in his senior year. He finished his college career with a NCAA record-breaking 33 sacks and 70 tackles for loss. He graduated, in 2000, from Penn State with a Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Arts.

Awards and honors

• 2× First-team All-Big Ten (1998–1999)
• Consensus First-team All-American (1999)
• Big Ten Lineman of the Year (1999)
• Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (1999)
• Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalist (1999)
• Chuck Bednarik Award finalist (1999)
• Lombardi Award finalist (1999)
• 1999 Outback Bowl MVP

Professional career

Pre-draft

At the Penn State pro day Brown measured 6'4⅞" 271-pounds, ran a 4.52 seconds forty-yard dash, had a vertical leap of 37" and bench-pressed 225 pounds 26 times.^[1]

Cleveland Browns

Brown was drafted by the Browns first overall in the 2000 NFL Draft, making him the eleventh defensive lineman to be taken first overall in the 70-plus year history of the NFL Draft. Brown had a productive rookie season, recording 70 total tackles and 4.5 sacks. His second season was cut short due to injury, but Brown recorded 4.5 sacks in 5 games. Brown had problems staying healthy for the rest of his career, and struggled on the field. During 2002-2004, Brown only played in 26 games and recorded just 8 sacks.

References

External links

• Denver Broncos bio