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Alabama Football: The Return of Tony Brown

By Meredith Hornsby

Dec 30, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Tony Brown (2) is interviewed by USA Today Sports at the Sugar Bowl media day at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Tony Brown (2) is interviewed by USA Today Sports at the Sugar Bowl media day at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports /
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Alabama football player Tony Brown returns to the Crimson Tide following a two year roller coaster of events.

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Tony Brown has everything Nick Saban covets in a cover corner; size, speed, athleticism, and physicality. The former 5 star high school phenom ranked 9th overall in the 2014 247 Sports composite rankings. He had all the tools to become the next Alabama football All-American corner under the tutelage of head coach Nick Saban. So…why haven’t we seen much of him the last two seasons?

2014

Brown arrived in Tuscaloosa as an early enrollee in January of 2014, and it didn’t take him long to get his name in the news.  Just ten days after setting foot on campus, Brown was arrested and charged with failure to obey and resisting arrest. 

As a true freshman that year, Brown appeared in 13 games, including two starts versus Ole Miss and Florida. Tony didn’t produce the way everyone expected, and ended the season with lackluster stats. He showed flashes of the elite lock-down corner that everyone expected when he signed with Alabama.

2015

Tony Brown successfully completed summer workouts, and most anticipated he would be the starter opposite Cyrus Jones in the 2015 eventual championship season. However, this isn’t a fairy tale; this is Nick Saban’s Alabama football program. Nothing is given and everything is earned.

Brown didn’t earn the spot, and instead, redshirt freshman Marlon Humphrey passed him up on the depth chart. Behind Humphrey came  true freshman Minkah Fitzpatrick, so Tony didn’t start a single game in 2015. He saw the most playing time against Mississippi State when Fitzpatrick left the game with an injury. Not exactly All-American material.

In an interview after Alabama football’s playoff game in the Cotton Bowl, Brown spoke about improving his emotional consistency.  The day after the interview, however, Saban sent Tony home for an undisclosed violation of team rules.

2016

No one knows for sure why Brown was sent home, but he received a multi-game suspension.  What we do know is that he is returning to the field Saturday against the Kentucky Wildcats, amid much anticipation. This came at the best possible time for Alabama with secondary depth a major concern as the team heads into SEC play.

Brown participated in all the spring practices and A Day this year, but at the safety position. His days at corner may be over but the move to safety just might be exactly what he needs to uncover his true potential.

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Watch for Brown’s return this Saturday as the Alabama football team takes on the University of Kentucky. The two SEC teams kickoff at 6PM central time on ESPN.

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