Chase Brown

Chase Brown (born March 21, 2000) is a Canadian professional football running back for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played one season for the Western Michigan Broncos before transferring to Illinois Fighting Illini in 2019. In his final season in 2022, he rushed for 1,643 yards and 10 TDs that culminated with him winning the Jon Cornish Trophy. He was selected b...

Chase Brown (born March 21, 2000) is a Canadian professional football running back for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played one season for the Western Michigan Broncos before transferring to Illinois Fighting Illini in 2019. In his final season in 2022, he rushed for 1,643 yards and 10 TDs that culminated with him winning the Jon Cornish Trophy. He was selected by the Bengals in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL draft. Early life Brown was born in 2000 and raised in London, Ontario, Canada. Brown originally attended the London South Collegiate Institute with his identical twin Sydney Brown, where they both played until they relocated from Canada to Florida as juniors in high school and attended Saint Stephen's Episcopal School in Bradenton, Florida. He set the school's career rushing record, but received a modest three-star rating by 247Sports. College career Western Michigan In October 2017, Brown verbally committed to play college football at Western Michigan University. As a freshman, he played for the 2018 Western Michigan Broncos football team and rushed for 352 yards on 71 carries for an average of five yards per carry. He also returned 12 kickoffs for 227 yards. In early 2019, Western Michigan's two freshmen stars, Brown and freshman receiver Jayden Reed, entered the NCAA transfer portal. Illinois Brown transferred to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2019, joining his identical twin, Sydney, a defensive back for the Fighting Illini. Sydney noted, "This is what we dreamt about as kids. Having him come here has been like having a piece of home here in Illinois." Brown's application for immediate eligibility was initially denied, but granted on appeal in mid-October 2019. After appearing in four games during the 2019 season, he redshirted and retained the year of eligibility. He tallied 18 rushing yards on three carries during the 2019 season. During the COVID shutdown, Brown and Sydney returned to Canada and stayed with their grandmother, converting the garage into a gym. Brown returned to Illinois in the fall and appeared in all eight games for the Illini. On November 14, 2020, he had his first 100-yard game against Rutgers, totaling 134 rushing yards. One week later, he rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns against Nebraska. For the season, he totaled 540 rushing yards on 104 carries (5.2 yards per carry). At the end of the season, he was selected in fan voting as the Fans Choice Canadian NCAA Player of the Year. With eligibility not impacted by the 2020 season, Brown remained classified as a sophomore in 2021. On October 2, 2021, he rushed for a career-high 257 yards against Charlotte – the fourth-highest single-game rushing total in Illinois history. Three weeks later, he rushed for 229 yards in the Illini's NCAA-record nine-overtime victory over No. 7 Penn State. His 223 yards was the most ever tallied by an opposing player at Penn State's Beaver Stadium. For the full 2021 season, Brown rushed for 1,005 yards on 170 carries, and his average of 100.5 rushing yards per game ranked second in the Big Ten Conference. Brown was twice named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week in 2021 and received third-team honors on the 2021 All-Big Ten Conference football team. In the 2022 season opener against Wyoming, Brown rushed for 151 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. He was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after the first week. Against Indiana on September 2, he rushed for 199 yards and was selected as the first winner of the Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week award. He then rushed over 100 yards in each of the next five games: 146 yards against Virginia on September 10; 108 yards against Chattanooga on September 22; 129 yards against Wisconsin on October 1; 146 yards against Iowa on October 8; and 180 yards against Minnesota on October 15. His yardage against Minnesota pushed him over the 1,000-yard mark, making him the first player to reach the mark in 2022 and the third Illinois player to rush for over 1,000 yards in consecutive years. Brown finished second nationally with 1,643 rushing yards. He was later awarded the 2022 Jon Cornish Trophy as the top Canadian player in NCAA football. Professional career Brown was ranked the #2 Canadian prospect ahead of the 2023 CFL draft, where he was drafted in the 7th round (59th overall) by the Montreal Alouettes. 2023 Brown was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fifth round, 163rd overall pick, of the 2023 NFL draft. He was placed on injured reserve on October 28, 2023, with a hamstring injury, and reactivated on November 25. In Week 14 against the Indianapolis Colts, Brown scored his first NFL touchdown on a 54-yard pass from Jake Browning; he finished the day with 105 total yards on three catches and eight carries. 2024 Brown began the 2024 season as the second running back on the depth chart behind Zack Moss, as well as the team's starting kickoff returner. In Week 4 against the Carolina Panthers, Brown had a breakout game, rushing for 80 yards and two touchdowns. He had his first career start against the New York Giants in Week 6, in which he fumbled in the final two minutes of the game, though a failed recovery by Jason Pinnock led to the ball being pushed out of bounds. He finished the game with 10 carries for 53 yards, and scored the game winning touchdown. After Moss suffered a season-ending neck injury, Brown was named the starter for the remainder of the season and was relieved of his special teams duties. His lone 100-yard rushing performance came in the Bengals' Week 9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, finishing the game with 120 rushing yards, 37 receiving yards, and one touchdown. Brown suffered an ankle injury during the Week 17 win against the Denver Broncos, leading him to miss the Bengals' final game of the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He finished the season with 990 rushing yards, 360 receiving yards, and 12 combined touchdowns. Career statistics NFL College Personal life Brown is the identical twin brother of Atlanta Falcons safety Sydney Brown. The two were teammates at Illinois. References External links Cincinnati Bengals bio Illinois Fighting Illini bio Media related to Chase Brown at Wikimedia Commons