100 Days of Florida Football: No. 33 Mack Brown

As the elder statesman of Florida’s arguably deepest unit, redshirt senior Mack Brown hasn’t had a lot of wear and tear with the Gators. Although he’s played in 37 games in four seasons, he’s only started two. He’s still got a lot of tread on his tires with only 188 carries in his career. Now Brown has a chance to make the 2014 season one to remember as he tries to make his way into the draft conversation.

If there’s one thing no one debates about Brown, it’s that he’s talented. At Martin Luther King, Jr. High School in Lithonia, GA, just outside Atlanta, Brown had a prolific career. For the Lions, he rushed for over 1,700 yards and 20 touchdowns during both his junior and senior seasons. His senior season concluded with prestigious accolades to his name. He was named to the 2010 Under Armour All-American game, as well as the Top 150 Dream Team by PrepStar magazine.

Coming out of high school, Brown was a highly sought after recruit. 247Sports composite ratings had him as a four-star all-purpose running back, ranked as the fourth of the position, sixth in Georgia, and 85th player overall of the 2010 recruiting class. He chose Florida over offers from Alabama, Michigan, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

Even though Brown saw action in his true freshman season (two games), he was able to earn a redshirt. In those two games, he rushed for 23 yards on three carries. His redshirt freshman season saw more action. He quadrupled his carries to 12 for 42 yards, but played a primary role on the kickoff unit. Brown was able to double those carries in his sophomore season, as he rushed 25 times for 102 yards, good for a 4.1 yards per carry average. He once again played on the kickoff unit and got the first two tackles of his career.

It wasn’t until his junior season did Brown see consistent play at running back. Even though Matt Jones had emerged at the end of the 2012 season, Brown still got his share of carries, shouldering the load when Jones had a slow start due to a viral infection and when he tore his meniscus. He ended up splitting time with highly touted freshman Kelvin Taylor, but still managed to get carries in all 12 games, leading the Gators in rushing in three of them. For the season, Brown ended up leading Florida with 543 yards on 148 carries and four touchdowns. He had a breakout game in the season opener against Toledo when he rushed 25 times for 112 yards and finally scored his first two touchdowns.

Now Brown will have to split time between Taylor, Jones, and Adam Lane which likely means he won’t have a chance to be as productive as he was last season, barring injury. But Brown remains one of the most talented backs on the team. When Jones went down last season with a torn meniscus, I did a feature on how Brown could run away from the pack at running back. Now he has a chance to put together a solid season and have a chance to play in the NFL. He’s got the skills to make it and he’s been the ultimate team player, contributing whatever way he can. Florida’s Mack Brown might not be the first of his name to pop into your head, but with the former Texas head coach relegated to giving insight on ESPN, the Gator has a chance to make a lasting impression. And he’ll be able to do so starting in just 33 days.

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