Demetrius Brown facts for kids

Demetrius Brown was an American football player born around 1967. He played as a quarterback for the University of Michigan Wolverines football team. He was the starting quarterback for the team in 1987 and 1988.

Demetrius Brown made history at Michigan. He was the first quarterback to lead the Wolverines to win two bowl games in a row. These wins were against Alabama in the 1988 Hall of Fame Bowl and USC in the 1989 Rose Bowl. During the 1987 season, he also set school records for interceptions in one game and in a single season.

Early Life

Demetrius Brown grew up in the Overtown area of Miami, Florida. He was raised by his mother. He went to Miami Beach Senior High School. There, he became the starting quarterback for four years.

Playing for Michigan

Brown joined the University of Michigan in 1985. He did not play in games during 1985 or 1986. This was because Jim Harbaugh was the starting quarterback at that time.

The 1987 Season

In 1987, Demetrius Brown became Michigan's starting quarterback. This happened after a competition with Chris Zurbrugg and Michael Taylor. In his fifth game, against Michigan State, Brown threw seven interceptions. This set a new school record.

One week later, Brown had a great game against Iowa. He threw three touchdown passes in the first half. He had no interceptions and passed for 190 yards. He also ran for a touchdown. Michigan won the game 37–10.

Brown played through the 1987 season with injuries to both hands. He had a broken thumb on his left (throwing) hand. He also had a badly dislocated thumb on his right hand. Michigan's coach, Bo Schembechler, praised Brown. He called him a "tough kid."

Brown and running back Jamie Morris helped Michigan win the 1988 Hall of Fame Bowl. They beat Alabama 28–24. Morris scored three touchdowns. Brown then threw a game-winning 20-yard touchdown pass. It went to John Kolesar with less than a minute left.

The 1987 Michigan team finished with an 8–4 record. They scored 331 points and allowed 172 points. Brown had 1,355 total yards of offense that season. He passed for 1,251 yards and ran for 104 yards. He also had a school record 16 interceptions in 1987.

The 1988 Season

At the start of the 1988 season, Brown had some academic challenges. Michael Taylor became the starting quarterback. However, Brown took over again after Taylor broke his collarbone.

After setting a record with 16 interceptions in 1987, Brown improved greatly in 1988. He threw zero interceptions in 84 pass attempts. For the season, he completed 48 of 84 passes. He gained 775 yards and threw six touchdowns. Brown led the 1988 team to win the Big Ten Conference championship. They won five games in a row at the end of the season.

In the 1988 Michigan–Ohio State game, Brown had his best passing game. He completed 11 of 17 passes for 223 yards. He also threw touchdown passes of 57 yards to Greg McMurtry and 41 yards to John Kolesar. Michigan beat Ohio State 34–31. This win secured the Big Ten championship and a spot in the Rose Bowl.

Brown's last game for Michigan was the 1989 Rose Bowl. Before the game, a USC player predicted Brown would throw four interceptions. Instead, Brown completed 11 of 24 passes for 144 yards. He threw a touchdown pass to Chris Calloway and had no interceptions. Michigan won 22–14. After the game, Brown joked, "I'd like to talk to Tracy Butts."

Career Statistics

During his time at Michigan, Brown completed 128 of 252 passes. He gained 2,026 passing yards. He threw 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He also ran for 122 yards and scored five rushing touchdowns.