The announcement was supposed to wait until Monday, but news of it leaked Friday. As hires go, this does have the potential to be a good one.
At Wisconsin, I can confirm that UW is hiring Marshall RBs coach Thomas Brown in the same capacity http://t.co/BM6rIrXi39
— FootballScoop Staff (@footballscoop) February 21, 2014
The hire has been confirmed by 247 Sports' Kipp Adams, and Brown has also begun retweeting support from Badgers fans at @iamthomasbrown.
Brown, a 27-year-old Tucker, Ga., native, played his college football for the Bulldogs and ended up being drafted by the Atlanta Falcons as sixth-round pick in 2008. At Georgia, Brown rushed for 2,646 yards, still the fifth-most in school history.
If we're looking for a coach with ties to the southeast, this definitely fits the bill. Back on National Signing Day, UW head coach Gary Andersen expressed his desire to have someone recruiting Georgia full-time. The Badgers landed two Georgia commits for 2014 in wide receiver Krenwick Sanders and defensive tackle Jeremy Patterson. Running back Caleb Kinlaw is also from Goose Creek, S.C.
Brown was also fairly impressive in his one season coaching the the Thundering Herd's running game. He took an offense that was 55th in rushing offense and 70th on a per-play basis, and helped guide Marshall to finish 24th in 2014. Marshall's leading rusher under Brown in 2013, Essray Taliaferro, finished with 1,140 yard and 10-touchdowns. Previously, his best season was 251 yards as a junior. Marshall also ended up with a whopping nine commitments from the state of Georgia alone.