Brandon Minor

ESPN.com ranked him as the 22nd best player and third best running back in the Big Ten Conference before the season started.

Minor grew up as a Michigan Wolverines fan.

His mother, Julie Gilliam, has pictures of him at age six wearing a Michigan uniform.

At age nine, Minor wrote the university to inquire about becoming a Michigan football player.

Every year he and his mother watched the Michigan - Ohio State game and rooted for Michigan.

Brandon Ricardo Minor (born July 24, 1988) is a former American football running back.

Clarence Adams III died serving the 91st Engineer Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division in Baghdad, Iraq, Minor gave up his number 3 to wear Adams' #33 as a tribute.

In the District championship game, he rushed for 239 yards on 27 carries, including four touchdown runs.

In the subsequent Central Region, Division 6 semifinals, he set a Central Region playoff record by rushing for 296 yards, but his undefeated top-ranked team was upset.

He concluded the season as both a first-team all-district and all-Metro Region selection after compiling 2,091 yards rushing and scoring 32 rushing touchdowns (plus 2 receiving touchdowns).

He was also selected to the Group AAA Virginia High School Football Coaches Association all-state second-team by the coaches.

Entering his senior season, he was ranked as the sixth best senior football player in Virginia by TechSideline.com.

Minor inherited the Varina High School starting varsity team role as a sophomore in 2003, and he gained 209 rushing yards in his first start.

That season, he helped his team reach the Virginia Central Region, Division 6 championship (the qualifying game for the Virginia High School League state semifinals).

He concluded the regular season as an All-District first-team selection and after the playoffs was selected as a second-team all-region choice.

During the season, he rushed for 1,750 yards and 22 touchdowns for the 10–2 (7–0) Varina Blue Devils.

Minor also played varsity basketball as a sophomore.

During the season, he once made seven three-point field goals in a game.

As a junior, when Varina's former Capital District offensive player of the year Army Spc.

The Roanoke Times described him as "one of the top five recruits in the state" at the time of his August 2005 visit to see the first day of Virginia Tech Hokies football practice.

At the time, he was considering Miami, Michigan, Florida, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, LSU and Ohio State.

However, he started the season on crutches, due to a torn hip flexor.

He returned to the lineup for the team's final regular season game and rushed for 174 yards on 28 carries.

Davon Morgan, his cousin, who now plays strong safety for Virginia Tech, was the team's quarterback.

Despite missing most of the season, he was still honored as an all-district and all-region selection.

His three-year career totals were 4,259 yards and 64 touchdowns.

As a graduating senior he was the number one ranked high school football fullback in the nation, according to rivals.com.

Following his senior season, he scored the only touchdown in the East-West Virginia High School Coaches Association All-star game.

He played college football at Michigan from 2006 to 2009.

In January 2006, Minor selected the University of Michigan.

Although he did not enroll in the 2006 Summer semester, he reported to Michigan on June 16 for strength and conditioning training.

Minor and fellow freshman Carlos Brown were behind three returning running backs (Mike Hart, Kevin Grady and senior Jerome Jackson) on the depth chart entering the season.

He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2010, but was released during the final cuts and played on practice squads in 2010 for the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts.

At Michigan, Minor finished second on the team in rushing both as a freshman and sophomore and led the team in rushing both as a junior and senior.

As a junior, he was an honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference selection by the coaches.

He had previously been ranked as the number one high school football fullback in the nation, according to Rivals.com.

He spent his first two years at Michigan serving as one of the primary backups to Mike Hart.

In his third year, he emerged from a field of five running backs who were vying to replace Hart as the leading rusher and scorer.

He has shared starting responsibilities in his junior and senior seasons.

He entered his senior season on the watch lists for the Doak Walker and Maxwell Awards.