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Position: Safety
College: Nebraska(Cornhuskers)
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 205
Vertical Leap: 36"
40-time: 4.56 sec.
Acquired: Chicago Bears, Second Round (39th overall)
NFL Comparison: Lawyer Milloy (Patriots)
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When the Bears selected Cornhuskers safety, Mike Brown, in the second round of the 2000 draft, Bear fans everyhwere said, "huh? Isn't that why we signed Shawn Wooden?" But Mike Brown is a tackling machine that can step in and play, should the injury-riddled Wooden be unable to play for whatever reason. Mike Brown was originally listed as a projected fourth-round pick.
Ideally, Mike would be stronger suited to play the strong safety position, but with Tony Parrish a lock at strong safety, Mike will have to earn a shot at free safety. Mike is more comfortable in zone coverage, and thrives in it. Mike is also a tremendous special teams player and will be able to help the Bears right out of the gate on special teams if Special Teams Coach, Keith Armstrong, expresses the need. At the combine, Mike ran a 4.55 40-yard time, had a 36" vertical leap, a 9'8" broad jump, and did 14 reps in lifting. Mike Brown comes to the Bears, joining fellow safeties, Tony Parrish, Shawn Wooden, Ray Austin, Frankie Smith, Jim Cantelupe, and fellow rookie Mike Green .
College Highlights
Mike Brown finally got to start in his sophomore season in 1997 and quickly adapted by leading the Huskers in tackles. Brown is a solid pick for the Bears because the Bears are no longer looking for just good cover guys, but guys who can bring down receivers with solid hits and tackles, and at while at Nebraska, Mike earned that reputation. In 1997, Brown finished the season as a second team All-Big 12 player and a nominee for the academic All-American award.
In 1998, Brown became a tackling technician where he continued where he left off and took it to another level, while once again leading the Huskers in tackles. Brown's forte' is a rover-secondary man, but in 1998 he started the first seven games at free safety before returning to his rover position. In 1998, Brown lead the Huskers with 102 tackles, becoming just the 13th player in Huskers history to amass more than 100 tackles in one season. By the end of the 98 season, Brown would have 191 tackles in 26 straight starts and with a 3.225 cumulative GPA in business administration,
Brown earned first-team All-Big 12 academic honors for the second consecutive year and was again nominated for GTE/CoSIDA Academic
All-America honors.
1999 All-America Candidate
1999 Academic All-America Candidate
Two-Time GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America Nominee (1997, 1998)
Two-Time First-Team Academic All-Big 12 (1997, 1998)
1998 First-Team All-Big 12 (Austin AS; Houston Chronicle)
1998 School Position (DB) Record With 102 Tackles
Two-Time Second-Team All-Big 12 (Coaches, 1997, 1998)
1997 Nebraska Nominee for Big 12 Defensive Player-of-the-Week vs. Texas A&M
Three-Time Big 12 Fall Semester Academic Honor Roll (1996, 1997, 1998)
Mike's best game as a Husker came against the Texas Longhorns during the
1999 season. He finished the game with 19 tackles.
Strengths
ATHLETICISM: Mike is basically an all-around sensational athlete. His
athleticism shines through on virtually every play. Mike has an excellent ability to break on the ball quickly thanks to his exploding first step and lightning-quick reads. His quick burst really helps him assist cornerbacks on downfield out-passes. "Smack" has tremendous agility and balance that allows him to weave through traffic and avoid getting tripped up by low blocks or fallen players. Mike is also extremely coordinated, having the ability to tackle bigger runningbacks by tackling lower. Mike is also a
sure-thing tackler. He seldom misses a tackle because of bad angles or getting run over.
COMPETITIVENESS: Mike is very tough and durable. He has played through
injury and has experienced tackling much bigger players with semi-ease, for the sake of the team. "Smack" Brown plays much bigger than his size would
lead you to believe. He is also known for causing fumbles and breaking up passes with his hard follow-throughs, after he makes contact. Mike is one of those players who never is satisfied with his play and always strives to play better in the next game. He can be described in one word, "hustle." He is very competitive and never quits chasing the ball. He makes no excuses about his job, making plays at the line in run support or chasing down a wideout who burnt his man.
INTELLIGENCE: Mike is very well-spoken and intelligent. If you've everheard him speak you would see his intelligence shine through even in simpleconversation about football. He has excellent instincts and hislightning-quick reads allow him to play much faster than his 40-timedictates. His level of concentration helps him make big plays. He also isvery smart and very quick at changing defensive formations should he seesomething he doesn't like about an offense. He displayed this almostmasterfully at the Senior Bowl.
EXPLOSIVENESS: There's a reason Mike is nicknamed, "Smack." His intensity
and explosive first step allow his tackles to feel much more teeth rattlingthan usual hits. His hits sometimes seem precisely timed because of hisfirst step. Mike also possesses natural playing strength and it shows inhis ability to tackle bigger players. He tends to drive up and into theball carrier for some viciously impressive hits (See the Tennessee game forproof).
COVERAGE: Mike plays stellar zone coverage and rarely gets beat in zone. He
tends to be thrown at because of his size and speed, but his sure-tackling and hard hits make for a long day for wideouts.
Weaknesses
HEIGHT: The only reason I am including height as a weakness is because so many publications put such an emphasis on it. He is about two inches shorter than your prototypical safety, but so is Tony Parrish. His size does present problems when covering tight ends, and he does have a history of having problems with tight ends.
MAN-TO-MAN COVERAGE: Mike has struggled in man-to-man situations primarily because he is inexperienced with them. In the NFL, he'll need to get
accustomed to man coverage quick.
Future Possibilities
Because Mike is a solid football player all-around, he will be a solid starter at some point in the NFL. His instincts and ability to learn quickly will help him get in the game much faster. Personally, even if Mike doesn't beat out Shawn Wooden during the season, I expect big special teams contributions from him. He will also become a leader on defense.
High School Info
Mike Brown was named the No. 1 prospect at defensive back by SuperPrep, when he attended At Saguaro High School, in Scottsdale, Arizona. Brown was a running back, receiver, safety and corner for Head Football Coach, Tim Beck, at Saguaro High, and was on the Class 4A state champions in 1995. Brown was a first-team Best in the West pick as named by the Long Beach Press-Telegram and tied for the most votes for the honor (nine). He was named the Arizona 4A Player-of-the-Year by every major publication and captured the Whizzer White Award for the state's best running back and the Tyrone Byrd Award (named after former Husker DB) as the state's best
defensive back. He was the Gatorade Circle of Champions state player-of-the-year, among the Schutt Sports Group Top 100, Collegiate
Sports of America's No. 1 Athlete and a first-team All-American. Brown rushed for 2,036 yards on 212 carries (9.6 per carry) and 31 TDs, despite missing two games due to a calf injury in 1995. He also caught 11 passes for 308 yards and scored three more TDs. Defensively, he intercepted two passes, had four tackles for losses, 69 total and four PBUs. He also returned seven kickoffs for an average of 33.9 yards per attempt, including one TD. He tallied 110 tackles as a junior and was a two-way starter for
Saguaro High School for three years. He is the first player in 10 years to have earned honors as both the offensive and defensive player-of-the-year in Arizona as named by the Arizona Republic newspaper and the Arizona State Coaches Association.
"Smack" Brown also earned all-state honors in baseball as a center fielder, hitting .426 with 27 stolen bases. SuperPrep Magazine listed Brown as the top recruit in the Far West Region and put him on its All-America team. He was named All-American by the National Recruiting Advisor, Bluechip and listed as second team by USA Today. Bluechip named him to its Dream Team as an all-around athlete and listed him as the No. 1 athlete in the Western Region. Brown picked Nebraska over USC and Oregon.
Did you know?
Mike was honored at the 1997 African Heritage Academic Recognition Banquet for posting a 3.0 semester or cumulative grade point average for the fall term of 1996. Mike also lettered three times in High School.
Personal
Mike majored in Business Administration at Nebraska and finished with a 3.166 cumulative GPA. Mike is the son of Sam and Terrell Brown and Bruce and Susie Freeeman, and was born on Feb. 13, 1978 - Mike Brown Profile