It was almost comical in the Green Bay Packers’ locker room after practice Thursday. During an uneventful press conference, Brett Favre mentioned running back Noah Herron in the same breath as Samkon Gado. Thus, a horde of cameramen and reporters swarmed to Herron’s locker for interviews. Herron might have drawn a bigger crowd than Jerome Bettis after the Super Bowl.
In fairness, Herron was active for two games last season with the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. He has some quickness and some elusiveness to him. And with Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport on the mend, Herron has been getting a lot of snaps in the two minicamps and the OTAs; and he’s a reliable, hard-working practice player. But he still looks to me like the same one-gear back who hit a hole and disappeared en route to averaging 2.7 yards on 45 carries in the Packers’ last three games of last season.
On the other hand, there has been a running back who has shown flashes over the last few practices and might be as intriguing a prospect as any rookie or street free agent on the roster. He also might be worth mentioning in the same breath as Gado for this reason: He followed a similarly improbable path to Green Bay.
Ben Brown, a 6-foot-1, 246-pounder from tiny Tabor College, an NAIA school in Hillsboro, Kan., is spending more time at tailback, less time at fullback and making the best of at most four, five opportunities per practice.
Pure and simple, Brown looks to be a load when he gets into the open field.
He said the Packers timed him at 4.7 in the 40-yard dash before signing him, but he added that he thinks he’s running faster than that now. He looks to be faster and the Packers probably wouldn’t be wasting their time with him at tailback if they didn’t think that, as well. Brown also has good forward lean and seemingly more ability than most fullbacks to plant and cut to evade a tackler.
Brown said he played at Bakersfield Junior College in 1999 and 2000, but didn’t have the grades to get into a four-year school, despite interest from the likes of UCLA and Arizona State. He also became a father and needed to work to support his family. For three years, he didn’t play any football.
He worked odd jobs in California for two years and for another year in Atlanta. In fact, he said he worked three jobs at once in 2003: At Pier 1, K-Mart and a Safeway grocery store.
"I was at the end of my road," said Brown.
But then a friend hooked him up with the coach at Tabor and that’s where Brown played the past two years, splitting time between fullback and tailback.
When the season ended, Brown and his wife made a highlight film and sent it to all 32 NFL teams. Arizona and Pittsburgh showed some interest. But only the Packers offered him an opportunity.
Brown said John Dorsey, the Packers’ director of college scouting, invited him for a tryout within two hours of the completion of the NFL draft. And Brown turned that tryout into a free agent contract with a good showing in the first minicamp.
Based on flashes, his versatility and the Packers’ needs, Brown might have a shot at making the roster come training camp.
One thing going for Brown beside his size and speed is his desire.
"I’m very hungry," he said. "I’m past hungry. This is my life. This it for me."
