South Carolina officially added to its football staff on Wednesday by landing up-and-coming running backs coach Thomas Brown.
The 32-year old assistant has made a swift rise through the coaching ranks, with his career beginning at Chattanooga in 2012. He made his way to Marshall, then to the Big Ten at Wisconsin by 2014, where he coached Heisman finalist Melvin Gordon. He spent a year on staff with his former head coach, Mark Richt, during Richt’s last year at Georgia in 2015 before following Richt to Miami.
Brown was given the offensive coordinator title in Coral Gabeles by Richt, although Richt himself called the plays on game day.
In a short time, Brown has coached some very productive running backs at the college level. The aforementioned Gordon rushed for over 2,500 yards during Brown’s one season at Wisconsin, winning the Doak Walker Award and finishing as a Heisman runner-up.
During the 2015 season at Georgia, Brown coached Sony Michel, who finished with over 1,100 yards, as well as Nick Chubb. The latter suffered a knee injury in October and thus missed a good chunk of the season, but still gained nearly 750 yards and averaged over 8 yards per carry.
Brown did good work during his three seasons at Miami on the coaching and recruiting front, as that’s the only place he’s settled in for more than a season from a recruiting standpoint. He coached future fourth-round NFL Draft pick Mark Walton to another 1,000 yard season in 2016; Walton was injured after four games in 2017 and missed the rest of the year but was on track for another very good year in averaging over 7.5 yards per carry. Travis Homer stepped up as the starter in his place and nearly eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark after becoming the lead back. Homer and backup Deejay Dallas combined for about 1,500 rushing yards in 2018,.
Brown quickly began to prove himself as a recruiter while at Miami. He landed Ahmmon Richards in his first class, the brother of 2019 running back prospect Mark Antony-Richards. In the 2018 class, he landed five-star running back Lorenzo Lingard as well as Rivals100 member Camron Davis.
Although Brown inherited some of the backs he successfully coached at his past stops, he’s already shown an intriguing blend of coaching and recruiting ability. Sources inside the South Carolina program believe this is a move that makes the program better. As we have mentioned, luring top-flight running back talent to Columbia is a priority for Will Muschamp and his staff and the thought is that Brown can be an asset in that area while doing a nice job on the field as well.
We'll have more soon on the potential recruiting impact in the 2019 and 2020 classes...
Over the last few days, I collected a few thoughts from some folks who have crossed paths with Brown and are familiar with him as a coach and recruiter. Here’s what they had to say.
“Coach Brown is a very good coach, he works extremely hard to motivate his players and put them in a position to be successful. Being a former college and NFL player he knows what it takes to get the most out of his players. He is a father figure and teaches his players on how to be successful in life, not just football. As a recruiter he does a very good job. He is one of top young coaches on the rise.” – High school coach in Atlanta
“He's a great coach and even better person. That's a really great addition to their staff.” – High school coach in Miami
“He’s a great coach and man. He’s an asset for young men.” – Parent of current prospect
“Wow. Big pickup. Great recruiter. Strong ties to Georgia.” – High school coach in Atlanta
The 32-year old assistant has made a swift rise through the coaching ranks, with his career beginning at Chattanooga in 2012. He made his way to Marshall, then to the Big Ten at Wisconsin by 2014, where he coached Heisman finalist Melvin Gordon. He spent a year on staff with his former head coach, Mark Richt, during Richt’s last year at Georgia in 2015 before following Richt to Miami.
Brown was given the offensive coordinator title in Coral Gabeles by Richt, although Richt himself called the plays on game day.
In a short time, Brown has coached some very productive running backs at the college level. The aforementioned Gordon rushed for over 2,500 yards during Brown’s one season at Wisconsin, winning the Doak Walker Award and finishing as a Heisman runner-up.
During the 2015 season at Georgia, Brown coached Sony Michel, who finished with over 1,100 yards, as well as Nick Chubb. The latter suffered a knee injury in October and thus missed a good chunk of the season, but still gained nearly 750 yards and averaged over 8 yards per carry.
Brown did good work during his three seasons at Miami on the coaching and recruiting front, as that’s the only place he’s settled in for more than a season from a recruiting standpoint. He coached future fourth-round NFL Draft pick Mark Walton to another 1,000 yard season in 2016; Walton was injured after four games in 2017 and missed the rest of the year but was on track for another very good year in averaging over 7.5 yards per carry. Travis Homer stepped up as the starter in his place and nearly eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark after becoming the lead back. Homer and backup Deejay Dallas combined for about 1,500 rushing yards in 2018,.
Brown quickly began to prove himself as a recruiter while at Miami. He landed Ahmmon Richards in his first class, the brother of 2019 running back prospect Mark Antony-Richards. In the 2018 class, he landed five-star running back Lorenzo Lingard as well as Rivals100 member Camron Davis.
Although Brown inherited some of the backs he successfully coached at his past stops, he’s already shown an intriguing blend of coaching and recruiting ability. Sources inside the South Carolina program believe this is a move that makes the program better. As we have mentioned, luring top-flight running back talent to Columbia is a priority for Will Muschamp and his staff and the thought is that Brown can be an asset in that area while doing a nice job on the field as well.
We'll have more soon on the potential recruiting impact in the 2019 and 2020 classes...
Over the last few days, I collected a few thoughts from some folks who have crossed paths with Brown and are familiar with him as a coach and recruiter. Here’s what they had to say.
“Coach Brown is a very good coach, he works extremely hard to motivate his players and put them in a position to be successful. Being a former college and NFL player he knows what it takes to get the most out of his players. He is a father figure and teaches his players on how to be successful in life, not just football. As a recruiter he does a very good job. He is one of top young coaches on the rise.” – High school coach in Atlanta
“He's a great coach and even better person. That's a really great addition to their staff.” – High school coach in Miami
“He’s a great coach and man. He’s an asset for young men.” – Parent of current prospect
“Wow. Big pickup. Great recruiter. Strong ties to Georgia.” – High school coach in Atlanta
