James Brown (quarterback)

James Brown (born May 17, 1975) is a former American football quarterback. He was the starting quarterback of the Texas Longhorns from 1994 to 1997. At the time, he was only the second black quarterback to guide Texas through an entire season (after Donnie Little in 1978), and is credited for "opening doors" for future black quarterbacks at Texas, such as Vince Young.

Longhorns career
The Beaumont, Texas, native and West Brook Senior High School graduate came to UT as the state's top quarterback prospect, and, after redshirting in 1993, he went on to turn in a record-setting career. Brown finished with 30 Longhorn records, including passing yards (7,638), total offense (8,049) and touchdown passes (53). A team captain in 1997, Brown became the first Longhorn quarterback in 20 years to earn first-team All-Southwest Conference (SWC) honors (Marty Akins, 1975) en route to leading Texas to the final SWC Championship, a 10-2-1 record, and a berth in the Sugar bowl in 1995, where Texas lost to Virginia Tech 28-10. He was also named SWC Offensive Player of the Year that season. In 1996, Brown guided Texas through a late season surge that was capped off by a stunning upset of defending National Champion Nebraska in the inaugural Big 12 championship game.

Roll Left
Perhaps the defining moment of his Texas career came in the aforementioned Big 12 title game. The Longhorns were clinging to a 30-27 lead late in the fourth quarter, but faced fourth-and-inches at their own 28-yard line. Texas coach John Mackovic decided to gamble for the first down, calling "roll left", a staple of the team's goal-line offense. The play called for Brown to fake to running back Priest Holmes and roll to his left. Before the play, Mackovic told him on the sidelines "come to run", intending for Brown to run for the first down, but the play included an option to pass if it was there. Brown took the snap, but as he rolled out, he saw his tight end Derek Lewis behind the Cornhuskers defense. He stopped and threw the ball to the wide-open Lewis, who ran down the sideline for a 61-yard gain. The Longhorns sealed the win and the Big 12 title when Holmes ran for a touchdown on the next play.

College Statistics

 * 1994: 80/115 for 1,037 yards with 12 TD vs 2 INT. 127 yards and 2 TD rushing.
 * 1995: 163/322 for 2,447 yards with 19 TD vs 12 INT. 136 yards and 1 TD rushing.
 * 1996: 170/299 for 2,468 yards with 17 TD vs 12 INT. 119 yards and 2 TD rushing.
 * 1997: 133/267 for 1,676 yards with 5 TD vs 11 INT. 29 yards and 1 TD rushing.

After college
Considered too small at 6ft 0in, Brown has never played in the National Football League. As a professional, Brown had a tryout in the Canadian Football League and spent four seasons at various levels in the Arena Football League leading the Texas Terminators in the IPFL to the league championship game in 1999. He played one season for the NFL Europe's Scottish Claymores in 2002. In 2003, he signed with the Frankfurt Galaxy of the NFL Europe. Currently serving as an Assistant Coach - Runningbacks, for Lamar University in Beaumont, Tx.