From Nebraska to the NFL: Kris Brown

By Jeff Griesch
Huskers.com

All this summer on Huskers.com, we will be featuring football players who have enjoyed outstanding professional careers by making the transition from Nebraska to the NFL. Kris Brown set the standard for Husker place-kickers by scoring 388 points and starting for two national championship teams. He is entering his ninth year in the NFL and sixth season with the Houston Texans.

Brown put the finishing touches on one of the most accomplished kicking careers in Nebraska history in 1998. A four-year letterwinner and a major contributor to two national championship teams in 1995 and 1997, Brown set the school record for kickers by pumping in 116 points in 12 games during Nebraska's undefeated national title campaign as a junior. He connected on all 62 of his PATs and hit 18-of-21 field goals.

His huge junior season helped Brown finish his career ranked among the top scorers in NCAA history, ranking No. 7 with a Big Eight Conference-record 388 points at the conclusion of his career. He added school records in field goals made and attempted (57-of-77) and career PATs made and attempted (217-222). His PATs made and attempted also ranked as an NCAA record at the conclusion of his career, but those marks have since been surpassed.

He also set the school mark by connecting on 125 consecutive PATs from Nov. 16, 1996 to Nov. 14, 1998, along with setting the Nebraska record by hitting 17 straight field goals from Sept. 20, 1997 to Sept. 12, 1998.

As a senior in 1998, Brown connected on 14-of-21 field goals and 47-of-48 PATs to finish with 89 points on the year. He added a pair of field goals and two extra points in Nebraska's 1998 Holiday Bowl game against Arizona. Brown was a second-team All-Big 12 selection by the Big 12 coaches in 1998.

A standout in the classroom and the community, Brown was named a 1998 NationsBank Community Champion and a two-time member of the Brook Berringer Citizenship Team (1997, 1998). He also earned his second straight first-team academic All-Big 12 award following his senior season. He was also a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America nominee. Brown earned his bachelor's degree in education from Nebraska in May of 1999.

Brown was chosen in the seventh round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1999 NFL Draft. He starred for the Steelers from 1999 to 2001 before joining the expansion Houston Texans in 2002. In his first eight seasons in the NFL (through 2006), Brown established himself as one of the best place-kickers in the league. He has scored 758 career points by connecting on 177-of-232 field goals and 227-of-233 PATs. He owns a career-long 55-year field goal as a Steeler in 2001.

Brown has also continued his commitment to community endeavors as a professional. He and his wife, Amy (also a Nebraska graduate), started Kris Brown's Kick Club to benefit the Texas Children's Hospital. Since its inception in 2003, the organization has raised nearly $500,000 to benefit the hospital.