The Red and Black

Issue date: 10/1/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: RICHARD HAMM Bulldog fans celebrate as tailback Thomas Brown runs into the end zone for a touchdown after a 41-yard run in the fourth quarter of Saturday's game against the Ole Miss Rebels at Sanford Stadium. [Click to enlarge]

The fans wanted the flash and dash. They wanted the energy, the spark, the Hare. Georgia fans wanted Knowshon Moreno, and they wanted him to start for the Bulldogs.

If that makes Thomas Brown the Tortoise of this fable, then he's one hell of a tortoise.

Saturday, Brown had the game of his life and showed those who bleed red and black that's he still the top dog on this team.

"He's awesome. The numbers speak for themselves, but they can't tell you what kind of guy he is. He's here every day working hard, he's the freakin' strongest guy on our team, he's a leader, he's the whole package," quarterback Matthew Stafford said.

Excluding the six games he missed last year with a torn ACL, Brown has been the constant, the rock of an ever-changing Bulldog offense.

This season, coming back from injury and with Moreno spinning and juking his way into the hearts of the Bulldog Nation, Brown almost became an afterthought in the offense.

"With (Brown's) injury and everybody being enamored with Knowshon, somebody asked me Tuesday if Knowshon should start," head coach Mark Richt said. "We have a great back in Thomas and he's mature and he's a leader and you want your leaders as your starters."

"That's the way it is in sports - out with the old, in with the new, especially when a guy comes in like (Moreno) and provides such a great spark," Brown said.

Brown has been fighting to stay on the field since he arrived on campus in 2004, but his 180 yards and three touchdowns against Ole Miss make the case that maybe he shouldn't have had to share as much as he has.

"I knew when I came here it would be a 'running back by committee,'" Brown said. "When I came here, there were maybe seven running backs. People talk about how we have a crowded backfield now, but it was even more crowded back then."

Even on Saturday, when he slightly separated his shoulder on his first touchdown, he came back and showed the grit and tenacity that should make the Tucker native one of Athens' favorite sons by the time he leaves to play on Sundays.

In a conference where leadership is as important as playmakers, Brown is as valuable now as he ever was before. Moreno is great for the change of pace, but Brown is the key for the Bulldogs if they want tough yards, tough play and tough leadership.

"He's a more patient runner now, and he seems more aggressive now. I know that seems contradictory, but he just has more energy and agility. I think he's quicker than he was before the injury. He may have been in the weight room too much. Not many guys can play as relentless after an ACL injury as he's been playing," Richt said.

Brown is now seventh on Georgia's all-time rushing list with 2,260 yards in his unfinished career, and it's not a stretch to think that he won't be in the top five when it's all said and done.

So you can have flash and dash. You can have the Hare.

I want the steady Tortoise. From what I hear, he wins the race.


- Phillip Kisubika is the First & Goal editor.

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