3. Chykie Brown, Cornerback (2007-2010)
In almost every way possible, the career of former Texas standout cornerback Chykie Brown ended in poor fashion. Brown deserved a much better send off than he received by that 2010 Longhorns team that was so disappointing and finished with a losing record. The former four-star recruit and Houston, TX, native was part of a senior class that mostly deserved better than what they all got in 2010.
Texas came into the 2010 season with a lot of hype and couldn’t get anything done behind the efforts of the former ultra-highly touted five-star quarterback recruit Garrett Gilbert. They only won seven games that season. But the down year wasn’t any fault on the shoulders of Brown, as he was on track for a career season.
Brown would wind up suffering a season-ending forearm injury during the 2010 season, which was how he was sent off to the next level after a solid four-year career in Austin. He finished up his career with the Longhorns with 106 total tackles, 24 pass breakups, two interceptions, four sacks, nine tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.
While Brown was a ball hawk, his nose for breaking up passes didn’t carry over to drawing more turnovers. That’s what partly kept him from truly being one of the three or four best cornerbacks in this century for the Longhorns.
Brown was a fifth round pick (164th overall) of the Baltimore Ravens in the 2011 NFL Draft. He would have a decently successful, but injury filled, NFL career that would end with the Cincinnati Bengals after the 2016 season.