FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Thomas Brown won't have to travel far to find his NFL home.
The former Georgia Bulldog and Tucker native was drafted by the Falcons in the sixth round of the NFL Draft Sunday afternoon.
"I'm very excited," he said. "It’s been a dream of mine, especially coming from Georgia and being born in the city of Atlanta. Now having the opportunity to play professional football with the Falcons is like a dream come true for me."
General Manager Thomas Dimitroff said Brown will compete for a among the team's running backs -- behind Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood.
"Thomas is a guy that will work into the rotation and compete well for one of those positions (at running back)," he said. "We all know it's important to have a nice twist (at) running back... We're hoping that Thomas can compete for the third spot here. He also has ability as a kickoff returner."
Dimitroff said Brown came to Falcons headquarters for a pre-Draft workout and the team had no concerns about his lengthy injury history (he missed 11 games in college) or size (5-foot-9, 204 pounds).
Brown overcame those obstacles to rank fifth in school annals with 529 carries for 2,646 yards during his career. His average of 22.7 yards per kickoff return placed him seventh on the Bulldogs' all-time record list and his 3,767 all-purpose yards rank fourth in Georgia history.
“It was really tough for me because, in my opinion, that’s the biggest knock for me," Brown said when asked about his injuries Sunday afternoon. "I really worked hard to appeal to them that I’m not injury prone. If you go back and look at the two injuries I had, the one was a knee injury on a kickoff return where I feel like anybody could’ve torn their ACL on that play. The second one was a crack in my collar bone when I dove into the end zone. But I had full recovery from all of those and I’m just excited about being a Falcon."
In 2006, Brown started five of the team's first seven games, as he was benched for a few contests due to inconsistent play. His season was cut short due to the ACL tear. He still ranked third on the team with 62 rushes for 256 yards (4.1 average) and a touchdown. He made seven catches for 71 yards and returned 15 kickoffs for 379 yards (25.3 average) and a score.
Brown, who was married Friday afternoon, started seven of 10 games in 2007, missing three contests after he suffered a left collarbone break against Tennessee. He actually hurt his shoulder in the Mississippi clash when he dove into the end zone at the end of a 50-yard touchdown run. When he returned later in the season, freshman sensation Knowshon Moreno was firmly entrenched as the Bulldogs' starting tailback.
Brown managed to total 779 yards with 10 touchdowns on 148 runs (5.3 average), 84 yards on 10 receptions and 333 yards on 15 kickoff returns (22.2 average). That gave him 1,196 all-purpose yards for his final campaign.
In 40 games at Georgia, Brown started 27 contests. He ranks fifth in school history with 2,646 yards on 529 carries (5.0 average), scoring 23 times on the ground. He snared 39 passes for 372 yards (9.5 average) and two scores, adding 749 yards and a touchdown on 33 kickoff returns (22.7 average). He completed one pass for a 9-yard score and recorded four solo tackles, as he amassed 3,767 all-purpose yards, an average of 94.18 yards per game.
MORE ON RUNNING BACK THOMAS BROWN:
- NFL.com: Thomas Brown profile
- YOUTUBE: Thomas Brown in the Shrine Game
- YOUTUBE: Thomas Brown Kick Return
- YOUTUBE: Thomas Brown 53-yard Run
- WIKIPEDIA: Thomas Brown
- NEWS: Georgia Bulldog stays close to home | Quotes | Photos
- AF.com: Click here for complete NFL Draft coverage
