Sports stats

Fahkir Brown Looking For One More Win In 2010

September 2, 2010 - United Football League (UFL 1)
Florida Tuskers News Release


ORLANDO, FL - THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2010- If you hang around Florida Tuskers head coach Jay Gruden long enough, you will figure out that he is a man that is confident in his defense. It is a group that is loaded with talent, depth, and experience at all positions.

And one of those players that Gruden knows he can count on to shut his man down is veteran cornerback Fakhir Brown, who recently reported to Tuskers' training camp for his second season with the team.

"It's great having Fakhir back because he is one of those guys who can shut down any team's best receiver," Gruden said. "I like that I can put him on an island and tell him 'hey you go cover your guy and that allows everybody else play the other 10 guys'."

Brown started all six games with the Tuskers in 2009 posting 18 tackles and one interception on the season. During the off-season the team changed coaches when previous head coach Jim Haslett headed for the National Football League as the defensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins.

Brown says it's a change he likes because Gruden is a player's coach and he is focused on winning. "I like Jay because he is a fun guy and at the same time he lets us know that we aren't out here to mess around that we are out here to win," Brown said of his new head coach. "I also feel that this year things are just a bit more organized which has a lot more to do with it being the second year of the league and not necessarily different leadership on our team."

A graduate of Grambling State University, Brown's professional career began with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League after he went undrafted in the 1998 NFL draft. In 1999, Brown made his NFL debut starting three games for the San Diego Chargers making nine appearances in all recording 30 tackles and a forced fumble in those contests.

He went on to become a hot commodity with the New Orleans Saints where he played his best season in 2004 registering 54 tackles, three picks, two forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. From there he signed a big contract with the St. Louis Rams in 2006 where he put up 158 tackles, eight interceptions, and three forced fumbles in three seasons.

"I made a name for myself playing out on an island," Brown said. "I loved doing that when I was younger and I'm older now, but I still feel young."

While Brown is an NFL veteran, he likes what he has seen in his two years with the United Football League and the way it treats the players. In fact, he feels that the two leagues are very comparable when it comes to player housing and the amenities he enjoys with his teammates at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando.

"I've been on NFL teams in the past where they don't treat us as good as the UFL is treating us now," he said. "It's really a five-star resort, the rooms, food and amenities are incredible."

As a returning Tusker from last year's team that went 6-0 in the regular season before falling to the Las Vegas Locomotives in overtime of the UFL championship game, Brown says he expects history to repeat itself; except with a much different ending.

"I feel that we've got to do even better than last year so the only way to do that is to go undefeated again and win the championship," said Brown.

Only time will tell if the Tuskers can do better than a perfect regular season as they have been dealt a stiff schedule with back-to-back road games at Las Vegas and in Sacramento against the Mountain Lions to open the season. The Tuskers will travel approximately 10,480 miles before finally playing their home opener on September 30th in another championship game rematch with the Loco's.

"This team will have to learn how to overcome adversity," Gruden said. "We have to overcome a tough schedule to start the season and we're going to see what this team is really made of early on."

FLORIDA TUSKERS THURSDAY CAMP NOTES: The Tuskers participated in a 20-play controlled situation scrimmage on Thursday, with QB Brooks Bollinger and Chris Greisen taking about 10 snaps each...Greisen looked sharp, hitting six of seven passes for 88 yards, including a 40-yard TD bomb to Maurice Price...Bollinger was two of five for 26 yards... "We made some big plays on both offense and defense and the tackling was pretty good," Head Coach Jay Gruden said. "My obvious concern is our overall conditioning. We didn't have enough healthy players to go longer than 20 plays and that's a problem."...One interested observer at the scrimmage was former Tampa Bay Bucs head coach and current ESPN analyst Jon Gruden, brother of Tuskers head coach Jay Gruden...Jon had good things to say about the UFL "It's a great league for a lot of reasons," Jon said. "There's a ton of NFL talent and not enough jobs to employ them. This league is perfect to give some guys a second chance and give some young talent a chance to develop."...Other visitors at camp included Jay's dad Jim Gruden, a former college and NFL coach and scout...WR Cortez Hankton has other business in Orlando other than playing for the Tuskers, as he is currently enrolled in the MBA program at the University of Central Florida. -UFL- About The Tuskers: Now in their second season, the Florida Tuskers will play an eight-game schedule in the 2010 season. All four of Florida's 2010 home games will be played in the Florida Citrus Bowl, including a Sept. 30 home opener against the Las Vegas Locomotives. Other home games include Oct. 21 (Sacramento), Nov. 5 (Omaha) and Nov. 11 (Hartford). For ticket and information, call 407-545-8123.



United Football League Stories from September 2, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Florida Tuskers Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central