Brian Russell
Encyclopedia
Brian William Russell (born February 5, 1978 in West Covina, California
) is an American football
safety who last played for the Houston Texans
of the National Football League
. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings
as an undrafted free agent in 2001. He played college football
at San Diego State
.
Russell has also played for the Cleveland Browns
, Seattle Seahawks
and Jacksonville Jaguars
.
. His team won the Del Rey League championship in 1993, 1994, and 1995. As a senior quarterback, he led the team to the 1995 CIF
Division I title. He was named All-Del Rey League and won the MVP trophy at the annual East-West All-Star Game.
He was recruited and spent his freshman season (1996) at Penn
, where he became the first quarterback in the history of the school to start as a freshman. He played in 10 games (starting two); he finished the season with 27 completions in 43 attempts for 320 yards, with four touchdowns and four interceptions. However, Russell wanted to play at the Division I-A level, and he felt that Philadelphia was too far from his home in Southern California
. He convinced Ted Tollner
to give him a scholarship at San Diego State University (SDSU)
to play for the Aztecs
.
, the school's first bowl appearance in seven seasons. Notably, he totaled five rushing touchdowns in the season, the most by an SDSU quarterback since 1981.
Russell began the 1998 year as the team's starting QB, but he struggled early in the season and was replaced by JUCO transfer Jack Hawley. Because of his excellent athleticism, Tollner moved Russell to free safety on the defense where he played alongside safety Will Demps
. In his first game as a defender, he made 10 tackles, including three straight solo stops. His senior season (1999) was solid: he made 68 tackles (41 solo), recovered two fumbles, and intercepted one pass. For his efforts, he was named Honorable Mention All-Mountain West Conference
.
, Russell signed with the Minnesota Vikings
as an undrafted free agent. He spent the entire 2001 season on the team's practice squad. Head coach Dennis Green
decided to cut Russell, but defensive coordinator Willie Shaw
convinced Green to give Russell a chance to play. Russell played mostly special teams in 2002, but did see enough action at strong safety to make his first career interception (against the Chicago Bears
in his first career start).
In 2003, Russell became a full-time starter and recorded an interception in each of Minnesota's first six games. He finished the regular season with nine interceptions, tied for the most in the NFL with Tony Parrish
. His best game of the season was against the Kansas City Chiefs
, where he tied a team record with three takeaways (two interceptions and the first fumble recovery of his career).
In 2004, Russell moved to free safety. He started all 16 games for the second consecutive season and recorded one interception in the regular season and another in the playoffs. Russell set a new career high with 111 tackles, and the Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers
in the NFC
playoffs before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles
.
as a restricted free agent in 2005. For the third straight season, he started all 16 regular season games. He finished with 70 tackles and three interceptions. His season was shortened due to injury the following year (2006); he totaled 51 tackles and one interception in 12 games before an elbow injury forced the Browns to place him on injured reserve.
as an unrestricted free agent. Head coach Mike Holmgren
said that he wanted Russell to be the "quarterback of the defense" for his team. Russell made 68 tackles and added an interception in 16 starts in 2007. Russell again started 16 games in 2008, marking the 5th time in his career to start every contest. On September 5, 2009 the Seahawks released Russell.
on September 8, 2009. He was released on November 21.
on November 25. He was waived on December 22 when the team re-signed offensive tackle Ephraim Salaam
. Russell was re-signed on December 29 after safety Dominique Barber
was placed on injured reserve
.
West Covina, California
West Covina is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. Located some east of Downtown Los Angeles in the eastern San Gabriel Valley, it is a mostly middle class suburb of Los Angeles...
) is an American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
safety who last played for the Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
as an undrafted free agent in 2001. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at San Diego State
San Diego State Aztecs football
The San Diego State football team represents the San Diego State Aztecs in college football. The Aztecs, a Division I FBS team and a member of the Mountain West Conference, play their home games at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The field is natural grass and has a maximum capacity of...
.
Russell has also played for the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
and Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Early years
Russell played at Bishop Amat High School in La Puente, CaliforniaLa Puente, California
La Puente is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 39,816 at the 2010 census.* City flower: The Golden Hibiscus* City colors: Green and White.-History:...
. His team won the Del Rey League championship in 1993, 1994, and 1995. As a senior quarterback, he led the team to the 1995 CIF
CIF
CIF is an abbreviation that may stand for:* California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports in California* Caltech Intermediate Form, geometry language for VLSI design, in which the primitives are coloured rectangles * Canada India Foundation, Canadian lobbying...
Division I title. He was named All-Del Rey League and won the MVP trophy at the annual East-West All-Star Game.
He was recruited and spent his freshman season (1996) at Penn
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, where he became the first quarterback in the history of the school to start as a freshman. He played in 10 games (starting two); he finished the season with 27 completions in 43 attempts for 320 yards, with four touchdowns and four interceptions. However, Russell wanted to play at the Division I-A level, and he felt that Philadelphia was too far from his home in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. He convinced Ted Tollner
Ted Tollner
Ted Alfred Tollner is a football coach who has worked as a head coach in college football and was also formerly the passing game coordinator of the Oakland Raiders.-Playing career:...
to give him a scholarship at San Diego State University (SDSU)
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
to play for the Aztecs
SDSU Aztecs
The San Diego State Aztecs are the collegiate athletics and sports teams for San Diego State University .San Diego State has organized programs for baseball, basketball, football, soccer, golf, gymnastics, rowing , softball, tennis, track, swimming, diving, women's volleyball, and water polo.The...
.
College career
Russell redshirted during the 1997 season. He took over as San Diego State's starting quarterback in the second game of the 1998 season (replacing injured starter Spencer Brinton). Russell quarterbacked the Aztecs the rest of the season and led them to the Las Vegas BowlLas Vegas Bowl
The Maaco Bowl Las Vegas is an NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A post-season college football bowl game that has been played annually at 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. since 1992. From 1992 to 1996, matchups featured the champion teams from the Big West and Mid-American...
, the school's first bowl appearance in seven seasons. Notably, he totaled five rushing touchdowns in the season, the most by an SDSU quarterback since 1981.
Russell began the 1998 year as the team's starting QB, but he struggled early in the season and was replaced by JUCO transfer Jack Hawley. Because of his excellent athleticism, Tollner moved Russell to free safety on the defense where he played alongside safety Will Demps
Will Demps
William Henry Demps, Jr. is an American football safety who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college football at San Diego State....
. In his first game as a defender, he made 10 tackles, including three straight solo stops. His senior season (1999) was solid: he made 68 tackles (41 solo), recovered two fumbles, and intercepted one pass. For his efforts, he was named Honorable Mention All-Mountain West Conference
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...
.
Minnesota Vikings
After going undrafted in the 2001 NFL Draft2001 NFL Draft
The 2001 NFL Draft took place on April 21–22, 2001 at the theater at Madison Square Garden, in New York City. This was the 66th National Football League draft in league history. The draft was broadcast on ESPN both days and eventually moved to ESPN2. No teams elected to claim any players in the...
, Russell signed with the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
as an undrafted free agent. He spent the entire 2001 season on the team's practice squad. Head coach Dennis Green
Dennis Green
Dennis "Denny" Green is an American football head coach for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League...
decided to cut Russell, but defensive coordinator Willie Shaw
Willie Shaw
William "Willie" Shaw is a retired American football player and coach who coached for a number of NFL and college football teams...
convinced Green to give Russell a chance to play. Russell played mostly special teams in 2002, but did see enough action at strong safety to make his first career interception (against the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in his first career start).
In 2003, Russell became a full-time starter and recorded an interception in each of Minnesota's first six games. He finished the regular season with nine interceptions, tied for the most in the NFL with Tony Parrish
Tony Parrish
Anthony W. Parrish is an American football safety who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft...
. His best game of the season was against the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
, where he tied a team record with three takeaways (two interceptions and the first fumble recovery of his career).
In 2004, Russell moved to free safety. He started all 16 games for the second consecutive season and recorded one interception in the regular season and another in the playoffs. Russell set a new career high with 111 tackles, and the Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
in the NFC
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
playoffs before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Cleveland Browns
Russell joined the Cleveland BrownsCleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
as a restricted free agent in 2005. For the third straight season, he started all 16 regular season games. He finished with 70 tackles and three interceptions. His season was shortened due to injury the following year (2006); he totaled 51 tackles and one interception in 12 games before an elbow injury forced the Browns to place him on injured reserve.
Seattle Seahawks
In 2007, Russell signed with the Seattle SeahawksSeattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
as an unrestricted free agent. Head coach Mike Holmgren
Mike Holmgren
Michael George Holmgren is a former professional football coach and current President of the Cleveland Browns. He served as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1992 to 1998, and the Seattle Seahawks from 1999 to 2008...
said that he wanted Russell to be the "quarterback of the defense" for his team. Russell made 68 tackles and added an interception in 16 starts in 2007. Russell again started 16 games in 2008, marking the 5th time in his career to start every contest. On September 5, 2009 the Seahawks released Russell.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Russell signed with the Jacksonville JaguarsJacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
on September 8, 2009. He was released on November 21.
Houston Texans
Russell was signed by the Houston TexansHouston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
on November 25. He was waived on December 22 when the team re-signed offensive tackle Ephraim Salaam
Ephraim Salaam
Ephraim Mateen Salaam is an American football Offensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the seventh round of the 1998 NFL Draft...
. Russell was re-signed on December 29 after safety Dominique Barber
Dominique Barber
Dominique J. Barber is an American football safety for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Texans in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Minnesota....
was placed on injured reserve
Injured reserve
The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...
.