Ronnie Brown

Ronnie G. Brown, Jr. (born December 12, 1981 in Rome, Georgia) is an American football running back for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Dolphins second overall in the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Auburn.

Brown attended Cartersville High School in Georgia, where he was a three-year starter and rushed for 936 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior. In his senior year, he earned the Georgia Class 2A Player of the Year award when he gained 1,931 yards on 206 carries and scored 25 touchdowns while also catching 15 passes for 343 yards and three touchdowns. Brown led Cartersville that season to a state championship over Hart County - their first since 1990. During his high school career, he was selected to the PrepStar All-America team and was named the top running back in Georgia by SuperPrep. He also played free safety and had three interceptions in his senior year.

Brown was also a skilled baseball player in high school as he hit .330 with nine home runs as a junior. As a result, he was drafted in the 42nd round of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft by the Seattle Mariners, but declined the offer in order to concentrate on his football career.

College career

Brown moved on to Auburn University to play NCAA football and major in communications. He teamed up with speed running back Carnell Williams to create a premier running threat of speed and power. He Redshirted after playing in the first two games of the 2000 season as he only gained 10 yards on six carries. In 2001, he played in 10 games and ranked third on the team with 330 yards on 84 carries and two touchdowns while catching seven passes for 109 yards.

Brown enjoyed his best season in 2002 when he gained a career-high 1,008 yards on 175 carries (5.8 avg.) with 13 touchdowns while subbing for the injured Williams. He also had nine receptions for 166 yards (18.4 avg.) and a touchdown. However in 2003, with Williams healthy and starting, Brown's statistics dropped as he carried the ball only 95 times for 446 yards (4.7 avg.), recorded five touchdowns, and had eight receptions for 80 yards.

In 2004, Brown shared duties with Williams and started seven games. He totaled 913 yards on 153 carries and scored eight times. He also displayed his receiving capabilities as he ranked second on the team with 34 catches for 313 yards and a touchdown.

Although he started only 21 of 47 games for Auburn he finished his career ranked seventh in school history with 2,707 yards rushing on 513 carries while ranking fifth with 28 rushing touchdowns. Brown also had 58 receptions for 668 yards and two touchdowns.

Professional career

2005

Brown entered the 2005 NFL Draft and was drafted with the 2nd pick of the 1st round by the Miami Dolphins. Carnell Williams was also in the draft and was selected with the fifth pick in the first round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brown held out of training camp due to a contract dispute and as a result was not successful running the ball in the first two weeks of the season as he rushed for only 93 yards on 34 carries (2.7 avg.) and no touchdowns. However, he got on track in Week 3 as he rushed for 132 yards on 23 carries (5.7 avg.) and his first career touchdown. He followed this up with a successful Week 4 performance rushing for 97 yards on 17 carries (5.7 avg.). But during Week 5, he had to again share rushing duties with another premier running back, this time Ricky Williams who was returning from a four-game suspension. Brown ended up having only about forty more rushes than Williams during the 2005 season, and was well on pace for a 1,000 yard campaign if it wasn't for them sharing the football. Ronnie ended up with 207 rushes for 907 yards (4.4 avg.) and 4 touchdowns while having 32 receptions for 232 yards and a touchdown.

2006

With Ricky Williams suspended for the entire season, Brown entered 2007 as the feature back for the Miami Dolphins. The offensive line and offense in general struggled for the Dolphins, making it difficult for Brown to consistently produce at a high level. He had a breakout game on October 15 loss to the New York Jets, rushing for 127 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Three weeks later, Brown rushed for a career high 157 yards against a stingy Chicago Bears defense, helping the Dolphins to an upset victory of the previously undefeated Bears. On a Thanksgiving Day game against the Detroit Lions, Brown suffered a broken left hand from a hit by a defender's helmet. While he missed the next three contest, Brown returned for the final two games of the season and posted back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances against the Indianapolis Colts and New York Jets. In 13 games played, Brown finished with 1,008 rushing yards, 276 receiving yards, five touchdowns and a solid 4.2 average.


2007

During the team's May minicamp, Brown revealed that he is eight pounds over his listed playing weight of 232, and would like to cut his body fat from 12 percent to 8 or 9 percent. During week 7 Ronnie Brown injured his knee making a tackle during an interception return and was lost for the season. At the time of his injury he was leading the league in yards from scrimmage and was on pace for over 2,200 total yards on the season. On October 22nd, the Miami Herald reported that Brown would be out for the remainder of the 2007 season.