Donald Brown (American football)

Donald Eugene Brown II (born April 11, 1987) is an American football running back for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was the starting running back for the University of Connecticut Huskies from 2006 to 2008.

High school career
Brown attended Red Bank Catholic High School in Red Bank, New Jersey. During his senior year, Brown rushed for 2,032 yards and 27 touchdowns. Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Brown was listed as the No. 53 running back prospect in the nation in 2005.He picked Connecticut over Wisconsin on December 8, 2004.

College career
Brown signed a national letter of intent to enroll at UConn on February 2, 2005. He would conclude his collegiate career as the all-time leading rusher for Connecticut with 3,800 yards. After rushing for over 2,000 yards in his junior year, Brown decided to forgo his senior year to enter the 2009 NFL Draft.

2006 season
Brown entered his redshirt freshman season in 2006 as a kickoff returner and second string running back behind senior captain and incumbent starter, Terry Caulley. Brown showed flashes of his running ability in the first game of the year, when he rushed for 118 yards on only 9 carries, including a 53 yard touchdown run, against Rhode Island. He would play primarily on special teams for the first half of the year. However, when Caulley went down with an injury before Connecticut's game against Rutgers on October 29, Brown was asked to make his first career start at running back. He made the most of this opportunity, as he rushed for 199 yards on 28 carries and 2 touchdowns. This performance proved to be too good to ignore, as he was awarded the starting job for the rest of the season. Brown had his best outing of his freshman campaign in the next game when he rushed for 205 yards on 43 carries with 3 touchdowns (1 receiving) in Connecticut's 46-45 double overtime win over Pittsburgh. Brown would average 134 yards per game in the five Big East games that he started. He finished the year with 896 yards and 9 touchdowns (2 receiving), which was good enough to award him with a 2nd team All Big East nomination.Big East Announces 2006 Postseason Football Awards

2007 season
Brown began his sophomore season with heightened expectations brought on by his very successful rookie campaign. However, nagging injuries combined with the emergence of fellow sophomore Andre Dixon would hamper his sophomore season. He would finish the year with 821 yards and 8 touchdowns, which was good for second on the team, behind Dixon. Twice, Brown ran for 100 yards in a game (against Rutgers and West Virginia) and just missed two more by rushing for 99 yards against Duke and Syracuse.

2008 season
A pre-season ankle injury to Dixon would cement Brown as the Huskies starting running back for the start of his junior season. It would be a position that he would not relinquish. Brown would begin the year with eight straight 100 yard games and would twice eclipse the 200 yard mark (against Temple and Virginia). He arguably had his best performance in the second game of the year as he rushed for 214 yards on 36 carries and the game's only touchdown against Temple, in a game played in a monsoon due to Tropical Storm Hannah.ESPN - Brown key as UConn stops Temple in overtime Included in his 214 yards was every one of Connecticut's 25 yards in overtime. Brown rushed for 150 yards in the eighth game of the season at home in a 40-16 Connecticut victory over eventual Big East champion Cincinnati. These 150 yards increased his season total to 1,324, which set a new Connecticut single-season record.UConnHuskies.com Game Recap The old tally of 1,262 had been set by Tory Taylor in 1995. Brown needed only eight games to break Taylor's record. Brown continued his record breaking season in the tenth game at Syracuse. In that game, he rushed for 131 yards on 31 attempts. A 49-yard touchdown run in the second quarter would allow Brown to surpass Caulley as Connecticut's all time leading rusher.UConnHuskies.com Game recap Brown would finish the regular season with 1,822 yards, which placed him first for rushing in the NCAA Division I FBS. His performance awarded him the Big East Offensive Player of the Year.Big East Announces 2008 Postseason Football Honors On January 3, 2009, Brown was named Player of the Game in UConn's 38-20 victory over the University at Buffalo in the 2009 International Bowl in Toronto. He finished the game with 261 yards rushing (208 in the first half) and a touchdown. He finished the season with 2,083 rushing yards, becoming only the 14th player in FBS history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season.Brown rushes for 261 yards as Huskies win International Bowl SportsLine.com, January 3, 2009On January 8, 2009, Brown was named Eastern College Athletic Conference Player of the Year. Following the International Bowl, Brown announced his intention to enter the 2009 NFL Draft.UConn Takes International Bowl's Brown to the NFL SI.com, January 3, 2009

2009 NFL Draft
Brown was considered one of the top three running back prospects available in the draft (alongside Knowshon Moreno and Chris Wells) and drew comparisons to Willie Parker. He was drafted with the 27th pick in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. Brown became the first Connecticut Husky ever to be picked in the first round of an NFL Draft.

Indianapolis Colts
Brown signed a five-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts on August 2, 2009. In his first action as a member of the team, Brown ran for 58 yards on five carries against the Minnesota Vikings in the first week of the preseason.Donald Brown Will Be a Big Part of Indy's Offense

He scored his first touchdown on September 21, 2009 against the Miami Dolphins in a 27-23 Colts win. On December 19, 2010, Donald recorded his first 100+ yard game in a 34-24 win against the Jaguars.

Brown saw increased playing time during the 2011 Regular Season. He had his best game as a professional in a Week 15 27-13 win over the Tennessee Titans when he rushed 16 times for 161 yards and scored a touchdown on an 80-yard run in the fourth quarter to seal the first victory of the season for Indianapolis.