Thomas Brown made the Bulldog faithful proud during his career at Georgia. As a running back, he made the freshman All-SEC team after gaining more than 1,043 all-purpose yards.
He followed up his stellar freshman season with a solid sophomore campaign, but later in his career he was plagued by injuries.
He would split some time with Knowshon Moreno, and find a spot on the Atlanta Falcons roster, after being drafted by them in the sixth round of the 2008 Draft. He would suffer another injury, ending his rookie season early. He was waived by the Falcons, picked up by the Browns and waived again.
This didn't deter Brown from finding a career in football. Instead of executing plays, he decided to call them. He began his coaching career with a small stint as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Georgia. In 2012, Brown landed in Chattanooga, Tenn., as the running backs coach for the UTC Mocs. In 2013, Brown took his talents to Marshall University, assuming the same role he did at UTC.
His big break came in 2014, when he was selected as running back coach for the Wisconsin Badgers, a university known for churning out talented rushers. He coached current San Diego Charger, and former Badger, Melvin Gordon. Gordon was the Heisman runner up in 2014.
2015 was Brown's homecoming. He returned to his alma mater, and helped coached the running back stable at UGA. Running back Sony Michel finished with 1,076 yards last season, under Brown's supervision.
Brown has followed Mark Richt to Miami, and will look to help develop a deep, talented core of running backs. He'll be able to work with last year's leading rusher, Joseph Yearby, and he has a lot of young talent for the future. Mark Walton is only a sophomore, and has an extremely high ceiling. Factor in fellow sophomore Trayone Gray, and true-freshman Travis Homer, and you're looking at potential stars that can thrive under Brown's guidance.
This will be Brown's first year as an offensive coordinator. Luckily, he'll have help, with Mark Richt calling plays, as Brown installs and teaches plays to the offense. Together, Brown and Richt could draw up a lot of plays utilizing backs as receivers, especially on screens.
As a recruiter, Brown has carried over some relationships he built with talented recruits during his days at Georgia. Four-star all-purpose back, Anthony McFarland, has noted that he has a strong relationship with coach Brown. Things are looking good for the 30-year-old coach, and if he can help players reach the levels of guys like Melvin Gordon, he'll be a fan favorite in no time.