The Gator Great will be honored from Dec. 2-3 at the 2022 SEC Football “Weekend of Champions”.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Gator Great Alex Brown has been selected to the 2022 SEC Football Legends class, the Southeastern Conference announced Thursday.
The former Gator was honored during Florida’s season opening win against Utah for his selection to be this year’s Gators SEC Football Legend.
The 2022 Football Legends Class includes 14 former stars who excelled on the gridiron and helped write the rich history of the sport at their respective institutions. This year’s class includes All-Americans, All-SEC selections, Academic All-Americans, a Heisman Trophy winner and a Hall of Fame head coach. The group represents teams that won SEC Championships, won Super Bowl titles and are represented in state, school and college football halls of fame.
Brown, a three-time All-American and three-time All-SEC selection, was the 2001 SEC Defensive Player of the year and a finalist for the Nagurski and Lombardi awards his senior season. He emerged as a sophomore, setting a school record with 13 quarterback sacks in 1999 and became only the third sophomore in UF history to garner first-team All-America honors.
In his UF career he registered 160 tackles and 120 “big plays,” including 33 quarterback sacks while helping lead Florida to four bowl appearances. Brown was a workhorse for the Gators, playing in 46 games for nearly 2,500 total career snaps in his career.
A fourth-round pick of the Chicago Bears in 2002, he started 123 games for the Bears from 2002-09 before playing his final NFL season with the New Orleans Saints in 2010. His 43.5 career quarterback sacks ranks fourth in Chicago Bear history in that category. Brown was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.
The class will be honored at the 2022 SEC Football “Weekend of Champions” December 2-3 in Atlanta, Ga, highlighted by the annual SEC Legends Celebration on Friday, December 2 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. The group will also be recognized prior to the SEC Football Championship Game, which will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, December 3.
The full 2022 SEC Football Legends class is as follows:
* ALABAMA – Ozzie Newsome, Split End, 1974-77
* ARKANSAS – Steve Korte, Offensive Guard, 1981-82
* AUBURN – Ben Tamburello, Guard/Center, 1983-86
* FLORIDA – Alex Brown, Defensive End, 1998-2001
* GEORGIA – Thomas Davis, Linebacker, 2002-04
* KENTUCKY – Joe Federspiel, Linebacker, 1969-71
* LSU – Todd McClure, Center, 1995-98
* OLE MISS – Eli Manning, Quarterback, 1999-2003
* MISSISSIPPI STATE – K.J. Wright, Linebacker, 2007-10
* MISSOURI – Gary Pinkel, Head Coach, 2001-15
* SOUTH CAROLINA – Alshon Jeffery, Wide Receiver, 2009-11
* TENNESSEE – Peyton Manning, Quarterback, 1994-97
* TEXAS A&M – Johnny Manziel, Quarterback, 2012-13
* VANDERBILT – Allama Matthews, Tight End, 1979-82
