Donald Brown ( American football ) Donald Eugene Brown II ( born April 11 , 1987 ) is an American football running back for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . He was the starting running back for the University of Connecticut Huskies from 2006 to 2008 . High school career . Brown attended Red Bank Catholic High School in Red Bank , New Jersey . During his senior year , Brown rushed for 2 , 032 yards and 27 touchdowns . Considered a three - star recruit by " Rivals . com " , Brown was listed as the No . 53 running back prospect in the nation in 2005 . He picked Connecticut over Wisconsin on December 8 , 2004 . College career . Brown signed a national letter of intent to enroll at UConn on February 2 , 2005 . He would conclude his collegiate career as the all - time leading rusher for Connecticut with 3 , 800 yards . After rushing for over 2 , 000 yards in his junior year , Brown decided to forgo his senior year to enter the 2009 NFL Draft . 2006 season . Brown entered his redshirt freshman season in 2006 as a kickoff returner and second string running back behind senior captain and incumbent starter , Terry Caulley . Brown showed flashes of his running ability in the first game of the year , when he rushed for 118 yards on only 9 carries , including a 53 yard touchdown run , against Rhode Island . He would play primarily on special teams for the first half of the year . However , when Caulley went down with an injury before Connecticut ' s game against Rutgers on October 29 , Brown was asked to make his first career start at running back . He made the most of this opportunity , as he rushed for 199 yards on 28 carries and 2 touchdowns . This performance proved to be too good to ignore , as he was awarded the starting job for the rest of the season . Brown had his best outing of his freshman campaign in the next game when he rushed for 205 yards on 43 carries with 3 touchdowns ( 1 receiving ) in Connecticut ' s 46 - 45 double overtime win over Pittsburgh . Brown would average 134 yards per game in the five Big East games that he started . He finished the year with 896 yards and 9 touchdowns ( 2 receiving ) , which was good enough to award him with a 2nd team All Big East nomination . Big East Announces 2006 Postseason Football Awards 2007 season . Brown began his sophomore season with heightened expectations brought on by his very successful rookie campaign . However , nagging injuries combined with the emergence of fellow sophomore Andre Dixon would hamper his sophomore season . He would finish the year with 821 yards and 8 touchdowns , which was good for second on the team , behind Dixon . Twice , Brown ran for 100 yards in a game ( against Rutgers and West Virginia ) and just missed two more by rushing for 99 yards against Duke and Syracuse . 2008 season . A pre - season ankle injury to Dixon would cement Brown as the Huskies starting running back for the start of his junior season . It would be a position that he would not relinquish . Brown would begin the year with eight straight 100 yard games and would twice eclipse the 200 yard mark ( against Temple and Virginia ) . He arguably had his best performance in the second game of the year as he rushed for 214 yards on 36 carries and the game ' s only touchdown against Temple , in a game played in a monsoon due to Tropical Storm Hannah . ESPN - Brown key as UConn stops Temple in overtime Included in his 214 yards was every one of Connecticut ' s 25 yards in overtime . Brown rushed for 150 yards in the eighth game of the season at home in a 40 - 16 Connecticut victory over eventual Big East champion Cincinnati . These 150 yards increased his season total to 1 , 324 , which set a new Connecticut single - season record . UConnHuskies . com Game Recap The old tally of 1 , 262 had been set by Tory Taylor in 1995 . Brown needed only eight games to break Taylor ' s record . Brown continued his record breaking season in the tenth game at Syracuse . In that game , he rushed for 131 yards on 31 attempts . A 49 - yard touchdown run in the second quarter would allow Brown to surpass Caulley as Connecticut ' s all time leading rusher . UConnHuskies . com Game recap Brown would finish the regular season with 1 , 822 yards , which placed him first for rushing in the NCAA Division I FBS . His performance awarded him the Big East Offensive Player of the Year . Big East Announces 2008 Postseason Football Honors On January 3 , 2009 , Brown was named Player of the Game in UConn ' s 38 - 20 victory over the University at Buffalo in the 2009 International Bowl in Toronto . He finished the game with 261 yards rushing ( 208 in the first half ) and a touchdown . He finished the season with 2 , 083 rushing yards , becoming only the 14th player in FBS history to rush for over 2 , 000 yards in a single season . Brown rushes for 261 yards as Huskies win International Bowl SportsLine . com , January 3 , 2009On January 8 , 2009 , Brown was named Eastern College Athletic Conference Player of the Year . Following the International Bowl , Brown announced his intention to enter the 2009 NFL Draft . UConn Takes International Bowl ' s Brown to the NFL SI . com , January 3 , 2009 Professional career . 2009 NFL Draft . Brown was considered one of the top three running back prospects available in the draft ( alongside Knowshon Moreno and Chris Wells ) and drew comparisons to Willie Parker . He was drafted with the 27th pick in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts . Brown became the first Connecticut Husky ever to be picked in the first round of an NFL Draft . Indianapolis Colts . Brown signed a five - year contract with the Indianapolis Colts on August 2 , 2009 . In his first action as a member of the team , Brown ran for 58 yards on five carries against the Minnesota Vikings in the first week of the preseason . Donald Brown Will Be a Big Part of Indy ' s Offense He scored his first touchdown on September 21 , 2009 against the Miami Dolphins in a 27 - 23 Colts win . On December 19 , 2010 , Donald recorded his first 100 + yard game in a 34 - 24 win against the Jaguars . Brown saw increased playing time during the 2011 Regular Season . He had his best game as a professional in a Week 15 27 - 13 win over the Tennessee Titans when he rushed 16 times for 161 yards and scored a touchdown on an 80 - yard run in the fourth quarter to seal the first victory of the season for Indianapolis .