56 Tim Brown

Hometown: McKeesport, PA

Career: 1992-1993

Record: 16-5-2, Bowl Record: 0-1

Tim Brown took an interesting route to Morgantown. He was highly recruited by the Mountaineers coming out of high school. Brown did not show much interest in the Mountaineers originally and ended up playing junior college football at Hudson Valley Community College. Coach Don Nehlen and the WVU coaching staff continued to recruit Brown, ultimately convincing he and teammate Jay Kearney to transfer to West Virignia. Brown was playing as a safety at the time, but would be given a redshirt in 1991, while learning how to play middle linebacker. He burst onto the scene in 1992, making fans take note of his staggering statistics, including 20 tackles in a loss to Syracuse. By the 1993 opener, Brown had moved to outside linebacker and had been named a team captain. He would not disappoint, earning All-Big East honors as a senior, enabling WVU to complete an undefeated regular season. By the time he hung up his cleats in Morgantown, Brown had totaled 210 tackles in just two seasons for the Mountaineers.

Memorable Game: The 1993 season was one of the best seasons in WVU football history. That season also featured some of the most exciting games Mountaineer fans had ever seen. The Virginia Tech game was no exception. The Hokies had WVU on the ropes all game, leading the Mountaineers at half 7-0. The Mountaineers would respond in the second half with a pair of field goals from Todd Sauerbrun and a safety on defense to take the lead 8-7 in the third quarter. The Mountaineer offense struggled to hold on to the football, giving up 5 turnovers. Tim Brown and the WVU defense did their best to hold the Hokie offense at bay, keeping them to just 13 points on the game. Brown would stop Hokie runners three times for loss on the day. The Mountaineers would get a late touchdown to escape with a 14-13 victory, keeping their perfect record intact.

Competition: Some could make a compelling argument for Doc Holliday to be the pick for #56. He was a solid linebacker for the Mountaineers, but is really best known for his work as a recruiter for WVU. I also could not consciously give the nod to a player who is now the head coach of Marshall. If he was still with WVU, things might have gone differently at #56.

Teaser: Tomorrow will be a pick that is sure to split the readership. There are really two outstanding linebackers to have donned #55 for the Mountaineers. Realistically, it will be tough to pick one or the other, but that is how this countdown works. I don’t think anyone has had such a difficult decision to make since Joey Lauren Adams had to choose between men and women in Chasing Amy.