One of Wisconsin’s top assistant coaches – and one of just two coaches to initially stay with new head coach Paul Chryst after Gary Andersen departed – has left Madison and returned to his home state.
Wisconsin football’s running backs coach Thomas Brown has left UW and will take the same position at Georgia, his alma mater, reports said Monday morning.
The Georgia Bulldogs official Twitter account later confirmed those reports.
Welcome back Thomas Brown! He returns to his alma mater and will be @FootballUGA's running backs coach!
— Georgia Bulldogs (@UGAAthletics) February 16, 2015
Brown, along with defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, were the only two assistant coaches who stayed at Wisconsin with Chryst after Andersen departed for Oregon State in December.
Brown was influential in forming and saving Wisconsin’s incoming recruiting class for 2015, which includes four-star running back Jordan Stevenson, three-star running back Bradrick Shaw and four-star outside linebacker Arrington Farrar. He was also pivotal in gaining a verbal commitment from 2016 running back recruit Antonio Williams.
Stevenson and Shaw signed their letters of intent to play at Wisconsin on Feb. 4. It is unclear how Brown’s jettisoning will affect their commitments, while Williams is the most vulnerable commit to flip.
Williams, a four-star prospect from North Carolina, is currently ranked as the fifth best running back in the Class of 2016 according to Scout.com and is the Badgers’ lone commitment for 2016 so far.
And now it really is just me. #GotToDoWhatsBestForMe
— AWG | Tone (@A_B_Williams26) February 16, 2015
Staying off of twitter for a while. Not answering any questions at the moment.
— AWG | Tone (@A_B_Williams26) February 16, 2015
2016 quarterback and Wisconsin prospect David Moore from Alpharetta, Georgia, also reacted to the news, demonstrating just how strong of a recruiter Brown was at Wisconsin.
Brown was a running back at Georgia from 2004-2007, before playing in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons and the Cleveland Browns. Andersen hired him in 2014 after serving as the running backs coach at Marshall in 2013.
Chryst will now have to hire the Badgers’ third running back coach in as many years. Thomas Hammock left that role following the 2013 season to take the same job for the Baltimore Ravens. In addition to running back, Chryst has yet to officially announce a wide receivers coach yet either.
Spring practices for the Badgers will begin in a month with the annual Spring Game taking place on April 25 at Camp Randall Stadium.
Update: It appears as if Williams is no longer fully committed to Wisconsin. According to Benjamin Worgull of BadgerNation.com, Williams will visit Alabama on Feb. 28 and is “no longer 100%” committed to the Badgers now that Brown has departed for Georgia.
New London (NC) North Stanly 4-star RB/#Badgers commit, Antonio Williams will visit Alabama Feb.28. No longer 100% after Brown's departure
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) February 16, 2015
