Maryland Football: The Rise and Fall of Wes Brown

Nov 14, 2015; East Lansing, MI, USA; Maryland Terrapins running back

(5) runs in the open field against the Michigan State Spartans during the 2nd half of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit:

-USA TODAY Sports

In 2011, Wes Brown was one of the top running backs in the nation and a star at local powerhouse Good Counsel (Md.). Brown was a four star recruit, the sixth best player in the state of Maryland, and No. 28 on ESPN.com for running back recruits that year.

As a senior, Brown would rush for 1,382 yards and 22 touchdowns. He would be recruited by Vanderbilt, Miami, and Maryland and ended up choosing to be a part of the Stay at Home Movement.

As a freshman, Brown showed that he could be great. On October 20, 2012, Brown rushed for a career high of 121 yards, showing that he could be Maryland’s next great running back. As Brown’s star at Maryland began to rise, his first setback approached.

Brown was connected to a June 2013 incident where he drove a suspect away from the scene of a shooting in Baltimore. When questioned by Baltimore police in College Park about this incident, Wes Brown allegedly shoved a police officer.  He was arrested for felony wiretapping, theft and assaulting an officer. Following this conduct, Brown would be suspended for his sophomore season at Maryland.

However, the bad luck kept coming for Brown. In the midst of his suspension from the team, a search warrant affidavit in March 2014 released that a loaded handgun, drug paraphernalia, and a bag of ammunition were found in his possession.

As he hit what seemed to be rock bottom, the Baltimore native persevered. When given the opportunity to rejoin the team, Brown showed he had learned from his mistakes, and become a man while facing adversity. He became committed to perfecting his craft, mentoring youth, and completing community service.

Brown returned in 2014, hungry for a second chance. Behind Brandon Ross and Albert Reid, Brown’s role diminished. However, he was still effective with 356 yards rushing and six touchdowns. He also improved his receiving yardage from his last time on the field, catching 21 passes for a total of 198 yards.

The year of 2015 was intended to be the year of both Ross and Brown. While Ross and Brown split carries throughout this season thus far, Brown barreled through defenses what seems to be more effectively than ever. Coach Mike Locksley even named Brown the starting running back over Ross following an embarrassing loss to Wisconsin. So far this season, he had 317 receiving yards on 71 carries. Brown was steadily rising, showing all of us he deserved the second chance in the hearts of Maryland fans.

With an already tumultuous season following the firing of coach Randy Edsall, it is shocking, saddening and disappointing to see Brown forced to the sidelines again for violating the school’s code of conduct. For a guy who worked so hard to get back onto the field amidst a shooting investigation, and a tough upbringing, this is simply heartbreaking.

Brown has risen, and fallen, and risen, and now has unfortunately fallen again.

Next: 3 observations from Maryland men's basketball's win over Georgetown