Brown departed the Kansas State football team before the start of the 2011 season to enter the 2012 NFL Draft. He earned the 2008 Hall Trophy as the finest high school athlete in the United States while attending Wichita High School East, and he was ranked #1 in his class by Rivals.com, the first running back to do so since Adrian Peterson in 2004.
During his three years at Kansas State, Brown rushed for 2,977 yards and 28 touchdowns. As a freshman in 2009, he started eight games and scored 13 touchdowns. That year, he was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year after rushing for 1,094 yards and 10 scores. He returned as a starter in 2010 and led the team in rushing for the second consecutive year with 997 yards and 11 touchdowns. As a junior in 2011, he announced his intention to forgo his final year of college eligibility and enter the draft. During his tenure at K-State, Brown set or tied nine school records including most career rushes (3,722), most career attempts (4,990), and highest single-season average per carry (5.6).
In January 2012, Brown announced that he would be skipping his final season of college and entering the NFL draft. He ended up being selected by the New York Giants in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
Johnson attended The University of Texas in Austin and played for Coach Mack Brown's Texas Longhorns football team from 2001 to 2004, when he established himself as one of the most formidable linebackers in Longhorn history.
As a result, he received the Mack Lee Hill Award as the rookie of the year. With a 10-6 record, the Kansas City Chiefs finished second in the AFC West but did not make the playoffs.
Brown entered the 2005 NFL Draft and was selected by the Miami Dolphins as the second overall pick in the first round. Carnell Williams, a fellow Auburn University HB, was also drafted and was taken by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the fifth choice in the first round.
Ronnie Brown's first game as a Dolphin was in Week 1 against the New York Jets. He took over for the injured Ricky Williams and played very well, finishing with 93 yards on 19 carries. He became only the third player in NFL history (Jim Brown and Barry Sanders are the others) to have at least one run of 20+ yards during his debut game. The Dolphins lost this game 27-10 but it wasn't really because of Ronnie Brown who had 95 yards from scrimmage and 2 TDs. It was because of Williams who was able to play only three quarters due to a hamstring injury.
In 2006, Brown replaced an injured Williams and led the team in rushing each week except one when Lamar Smith came off the bench to replace him. In that week, Brown was sidelined with a knee injury. In seven games, he had 730 yards from scrimmage and 5 touchdowns. Although the Dolphins finished with a 6-10 record, they made the playoffs as a wild card team thanks to Brown's great performances. He was named to the Pro Bowl after the season ended.
Browner redshirted at Oregon State in 2002. He went on to start every game for the Beavers after that. Browner was chosen to the Football Writers Association and The Sporting News Freshman All-America teams in 2003. He was named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and was a member of the All-Pac-10 second team. Browner started all 13 games he played in 2004 and led the team with seven interceptions. He finished his OSU career with 33 catches for 469 yards and five touchdowns.
He entered the NFL draft following his senior year. The Seattle Seahawks selected him with their first pick (seventh overall).
In 2005, Browner started 10 of 11 games he appeared in for the Seahawks. He recorded 93 tackles and six sacks during his only season in Seattle. In 2006, Browner started 13 of 14 games he played in for the New York Jets. He made 91 tackles and had three sacks during that season. In 2007, Browner started 12 of 13 games he appeared in for the Jets. He made 92 tackles and had two sacks during that season.
In 2008, Browner started 13 of 14 games he appeared in for the Jets. He made 77 tackles and had four sacks during that season.
Oregon State began recruiting Browner when he was a high school junior. They eventually landed him with their first pick (seventh overall) in the 2003 college football draft.