THOMAS BROWN IS THE ROCK

Just as Jesus told the Apostle Peter that he was the rock upon which the church would be built, Thomas Brown is clearly the rock upon which the 2007 Bulldog football team is built. Everything you read and hear about Thomas points to his leadership on and off the field. He has always been an extremely hard worker in the weight room and conditioning program and this is particularly evident in his return from his ACL surgery in less than 10 months. Not only is he running the ball with as much or more quickness, effort and determination as he did before his injury in the Vanderbilt game last year. Couple that with his fearless runs on kick returns and his other contributions on the punt coverage team and you soon realize that Thomas is a hard person to keep off the field. For his effort thus far through 4 games, here are his statistics:

Rushing - 54 carries, 213 yards, 3.9 yard average, 3 TDs and 53 yards per game average.
Receiving - 9 catches, 73 yards, 8.1 yard average, 2 TDs and 18 yards per game average.
Kick returns - 10 for 260 yards, 26 yard average with a long of 40 yards.
All purpose yardage - 546 for the season, averaging 137 per game.
He has 5 of the 14 touchdowns scored by the Dawgs this season, which leads the team.

These are not eye-popping statistics. In fact, Knowshon Moreno has more rushing yards, more receiving yards and a higher average per touch. However, the impact on the team of having Brown's leadership on the field and on the sideline is immeasurable. Also, not to be overlooked is his pass protection blocking. It is obvious that Coach Richt and Coach Bobo are more comfortable with Brown in the backfield protecting Matthew Stafford and that is borne mostly from experience and desire - meaning that it is only a matter of repetitions before Moreno also becomes a reliable pass blocker. It is a plus that both are talented pass receivers coming out of the backfield.

Despite the fact that Brown does not have gaudy statistics, in my opinion, he is the key to our offense in both tangible and intangible ways. Moreover, I believe Thomas is the key to our team overall as a battle-tested senior leader he looks like he is truly having fun out there and loving his role on this football team. Look at what Coach Fabris had to say about him in this article.

Assistant coach Jon Fabris calls Brown "the best football player on the team," even after coming off an ACL injury last season.

"There aren't too many guys that are your leading rusher the year before he got hurt that are still covering punts, will block on a punt return if you ask him to, will be on the kickoff team," Fabris said. "At a meeting, he's not like some prima donna sashaying in at the last minute. He's one of the first people in his seat and is all business. And the guy is going to play. He's just a warrior."

Watching the games this season, I have gotten a clear sense of how Thomas Brown's effort and enthusiasm has inspired his teammates and I believe that he is a great mentor for Knowshon Moreno and Caleb King. Moreno seems to be cut from the same cloth and his energy also appears contagious. With Brown's impact on the field and on the sideline, the duo of Brown and Moreno is more potent than either would be individually. It has certainly been exciting to watch these two guys delivering a nice one-two punch for our offense and I am excited about what remains in front of them for the rest of this season.

GO DAWGS!