Brandon Minor facts for kids
Minor in 2008
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| No. 36 | |
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| Position: | Running back |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | July 24, 1988 Richmond, Virginia, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight: | 214 lb (97 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Varina (Henrico, Virginia) |
| College: | Michigan |
| Undrafted: | 2010 |
| Career history | |
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Brandon Ricardo Minor (born July 24, 1988) is a former American football player. He was a running back, which is a player who carries the ball. Brandon played college football for the Michigan Wolverines from 2006 to 2009.
After college, he joined the Chicago Bears in 2010. He was not chosen in the main draft, so he was an undrafted free agent. He also played on practice squads for the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts. A practice squad is a group of players who train with the team but are not on the main roster.
At Michigan, Brandon was a top player. He was second in rushing yards as a freshman and sophomore. He then led the team in rushing during his junior and senior years. As a junior, coaches named him an honorable mention for the Big Ten Conference. Before college, he was even ranked as the best high school fullback in the country.
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Brandon Minor's Early Life and High School Football
Brandon Minor loved the Michigan Wolverines football team from a young age. His mother, Julie Gilliam, has photos of him wearing a Michigan uniform when he was just six years old. When he was nine, Brandon even wrote to the university. He wanted to know how he could become a Michigan football player one day. Every year, he and his mom would watch the big Michigan versus Ohio State game. They always cheered for Michigan.
High School Football Star
Brandon became the starting player for Varina High School's varsity team in 2003. This was when he was only a sophomore. In his very first game as a starter, he ran for an amazing 209 yards. That season, he helped his team reach an important championship game in Virginia. He finished the regular season as a first-team All-District player. After the playoffs, he was chosen for the second-team all-region.
During that sophomore season, Brandon rushed for 1,750 yards. He also scored 22 touchdowns. His team, the Varina Blue Devils, had a great record of 10 wins and 2 losses. Brandon also played varsity basketball as a sophomore. In one game, he even made seven three-point field goals!
As a junior, Brandon honored a fallen hero. A former Varina player, Clarence Adams III, died while serving in Iraq. Brandon gave up his jersey number 3 to wear Adams' number 33. This was a special way to remember him. In a district championship game, Brandon ran for 239 yards. He also scored four touchdowns. In another playoff game, he set a new record. He rushed for 296 yards.
He finished his junior year with 2,091 rushing yards. He scored 32 rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns. Coaches also selected him for the all-state second-team.
Senior Year and National Ranking
Before his senior year, Brandon was ranked as one of the best senior football players in Virginia. He was considering many top colleges. These included Miami, Michigan, Florida, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, LSU, and Ohio State.
He started his senior season on crutches because of a hip injury. He missed most of the season. But he returned for the last regular season game. In that game, he rushed for 174 yards. His cousin, Davon Morgan, was the team's quarterback. Even though he missed games, Brandon was still honored as an all-district and all-region player.
Over his three years in high school, Brandon ran for 4,259 yards. He scored 64 touchdowns. When he graduated, he was ranked as the number one high school fullback in the whole country. This was according to rivals.com. After his senior season, he scored the only touchdown in a special All-star game.
Brandon Minor's College Football Career
In January 2006, Brandon Minor chose to play for the University of Michigan. He started training with the team in June. As a freshman, he was behind several older running backs. But he quickly showed his talent. In his first game, he rushed for 24 yards against Vanderbilt.
Later that season, on October 7, he scored his first touchdown. It was a 40-yard run against Michigan State. On November 4, he had his first game with over 100 rushing yards. He ran for 108 yards and scored another touchdown. As a freshman in 2006, Brandon rushed for 238 yards. This was the second-highest on the team.
Sophomore Season Challenges
In 2007, some of Michigan's other running backs got injured. This gave Brandon more chances to play. In October, he had his best game yet. He rushed for 157 yards and scored a touchdown against Minnesota. This was during the Little Brown Jug game.
Even though he got injured himself and had to wear a protective boot, he recovered quickly. He helped fill in for the injured star player, Mike Hart. As a sophomore in 2007, Brandon improved his rushing total to 385 yards. He was again second on the team in rushing.
Leading the Team as a Junior and Senior
In 2008, Rich Rodriguez became the new head coach at Michigan. Brandon and another junior, Carlos Brown, were expected to compete for the starting job. However, some talented freshmen also joined the team.
As a junior in 2008, Brandon became the team's top rusher. He started four games. He rushed for 533 yards and scored nine rushing touchdowns. He also caught two touchdown passes. Seven of his eleven touchdowns came in just three weeks! This included a game where he ran for 155 yards and scored three touchdowns against Purdue.
Brandon played with a wrist injury during his junior year. This made it hard for him to hold the ball and push away opponents. Despite his injuries, coaches chose him as an honorable mention for the all-conference team.
Before his senior season in 2009, Brandon was named to important watch lists. These included the Doak Walker Award and Maxwell Award. These awards are given to top college football players. ESPN also ranked him as the 22nd best player in the Big Ten Conference. They said he was the 3rd best running back.
Brandon missed the first game of his senior season due to an ankle injury. But in the second game, against Notre Dame, he rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown. This helped Michigan win a close game 38-34. The ankle injury bothered him for much of the season. He missed another game in October.
He had a great game against Purdue in November. He ran for 154 yards and scored three touchdowns. A shoulder injury kept him out of the last game of the season. Over his college career, Brandon scored 20 rushing touchdowns. He gained a total of 1,658 rushing yards.
Brandon Minor's Professional Football Career
After college, Brandon Minor signed with the Chicago Bears on April 24, 2010. He was not drafted by any team, so he joined as an undrafted free agent. He was released by the Bears in September.
He then joined the practice squad for the New Orleans Saints. Later, he was back with the Bears briefly. After that, he signed with the Indianapolis Colts practice squad. The Colts released him in October. In November, he tried out for the Green Bay Packers. He finished the 2010 season on the practice squad for the Denver Broncos.
In 2011, the Broncos placed Brandon on injured reserve. This means he could not play due to an injury. They later waived him in October.
