Ronnie Brown

Ronnie G. Brown Jr. (born December 12, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL).

After graduating from Cartersville High School in Georgia, Brown attended Auburn University to play college football for the Auburn Tigers.

Brown moved on to Auburn University, where he majored in communications and played for coach Tommy Tuberville's Auburn Tigers football team from 2000 to 2004.

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.

He and Cadillac Williams shared carries at running back, while he had 1,008 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2002, 446 yards and five touchdowns in 2003, and 913 yards and eight touchdowns in 2004.

Brown finished seventh in school history with 2,707 rushing yards and fifth with 28 rushing touchdowns.

He twice earned second-team All-Southeastern Conference honors in 2002 and 2004.

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.

Together with Jason Campbell, coach Tommy Tuberville called them the best backfield in the past 30 years as they led the team to a 13-0 record.

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.

Brown was drafted second overall by the Miami Dolphins in the 2005 NFL Draft.

Brown started at running back for the Dolphins for the first four weeks of the season while Ricky Williams served a suspension, and shared carries with him when he returned in week five.

Brown entered the 2005 NFL Draft and was drafted with the second overall pick of the first round by the Miami Dolphins.

Fellow Auburn University halfback 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.

Brown ended up with 207 rushes for 907 yards (4.4 avg.) and 4 touchdowns while having 32 receptions for 232 yards and a touchdown.

Brown became the feature back in 2006 due to Williams' full year suspension.

Brown sat out three games due to a broken hand suffered on Thanksgiving Day in a game against the Detroit Lions, returning in week 16.

With Ricky Williams suspended for the entire season, Brown entered 2006 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 played in the first seven games of the 2007 season before suffering a knee injury which knocked him out for the remainder of the season.

Williams started over Brown in the first two games of the 2008 season, but shared carries with him after week two.

Brown had 916 yards and ten touchdowns in 2008, which led to his first Pro Bowl selection following the season.

He was placed on injured reserve for the second straight season after suffering a foot injury in week nine of the 2009 season.

Brown rushed for 734 yards and five touchdowns in 2010, as he started in all 16 games.

He played for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2011 following a six-year career with the Dolphins.

Brown attended Cartersville High School in Georgia, where he was a three-year starter and rushed for 4,936 yards, 12 touchdowns.

In 2020, Brown was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.