Scott Brown named defensive line coach at ASU

TEMPE – Scott Brown, known in college football circles as a master game planner, a dynamic teacher of young men and a relentless recruiter, has been named as Defensive Line coach at Arizona State University, Head Coach Dennis Erickson announced Thursday.

Brown replaces former Defensive Line coach Grady Stretz, who left to take the same position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Brown has coached multiple defensive positions during his long coaching career and will assist Sun Devil Defensive Coordinator Craig Bray in the weekly game planning for opponents. Additionally, Brown has extensive contacts throughout the state of Texas where he has recruited for 30 years. And, he is widely known as one of the finest teachers of defensive line play in the country.

“Scott Brown brings a wealth of knowledge to Arizona State on coaching defensive line play,” says Erickson. “Everyone I spoke with talked about his work with the players and how much they learned from him. Scott will be a tremendous help to Craig Bray in our game planning during game week. I was extremely impressed with his ideas and concepts of a defense. He brings us so much more than just a position coach in that regard. He gave us a very impressive interview.

“Our defensive linemen, who met with Scott while he was on his interview, were very impressed with his style and his passion for the game. They were ready to play immediately.

“He has recruited the state of Texas for 30 years,” continued Erickson. “He has extensive contacts there and not just in a certain area, but in the entire state of Texas. Trying to get into the state of Texas with no connections is difficult. With Scott’s connections we will have instant credibility in that state.”

Brown served the last four years at Colorado State where he was the defensive line coach (2007-2011). He joined the Ram staff from Duke University, where he had spent the previous 12 seasons (1996-2007) coaching the defensive line and special teams. He coached his last two Duke seasons with current CSU defensive coordinator Larry Kerr.

Brown spent his first three seasons at CSU in charge of the defensive line, and shifted before the 2011 season to coach linebackers. At CSU Brown recruited East and South Texas and Kansas, and managed the Rams’ June summer camps for high school players. At Duke, Brown’s primary recruiting areas were the state of Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Ohio. In 2010, Brown tutored nose tackle Guy Miller, who became the first Ram player in years to earn first-team All-Mountain West Conference honors.

Highly respected by his former players, Brown has coached countless players who went on to the National Football League, most recently Colorado State defensive end Tommie Hill (N.Y. Giants). Nine of those individuals played at Duke, including Chris Combs, the Steelers’ sixth-round draft choice in 2000. Combs earned first-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference honors in consecutive seasons while with the Blue Devils.

Prior to his tenure at Duke, Brown coached four seasons on the staff at Minnesota, where he coached he defensive line (1992-94) and linebackers (1995). With the Golden Gophers, he coached Craig Sauer, the Atlanta Falcons’ sixth-round selection in the 1996 NFL Draft, as well as Miami Dolphins free agent Ed Hawthorne.

He also served nine years at Texas Christian University (1983-91) and three at Southwest Texas State (1980-82), coaching defensive line all 12 seasons. At TCU, he was instrumental in the development of the late Fred Washington, the Chicago Bears’ second-round choice in the 1990 NFL Draft, and Kent Tramel, a Horned Frog free agent signed by the Washington Redskins in the late 1980s.

At Southwest Texas State (1980-83), he helped the Bobcats to consecutive Division II national championships, posting victories over North Dakota State in 1981 and UC Davis in 1982.

Brown launched his coaching career with a four-year stint in various coaching roles at his alma mater, Adams State (1976-79), in Southern Colorado.

As a player, Brown was a prep All-American at Del Norte (Colo.) High School, and went on to play linebacker and defensive end at Adams State.

Born February 20, 1952, in Del Norte, Colo., Brown and his wife, Pam, have a son, Ryan, and a daughter, Meghan. His daughter graduated from Duke, where she competed on the Blue Devils’ volleyball team.

Brown earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Adams State College, each in physical education in 1974 and ’77, respectively.

Brown’s hire is pending additional paperwork completed by the ASU Human Resources Department.

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