Conference USA Co-Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 23, 2017)
2017 Conference USA Honorable Mention
2017 Conference USA Preseason Team
2017 Jim Thorpe Award Watch List
2016 Conference USA Second Team
2016 (Jr.) | 14/10: Brown started 10 games for the Hilltoppers and appeared in all 14 at cornerback as a true junior. He led the Hilltoppers in pass breakups with 10 and tied for the team lead in passes defended with 11. For his play, he was named to the All-Conference USA Second Team. Brown tallied 43 tackles (34 solo) on the season, the sixth-most by a Hilltopper and third among all defensive backs. He also added four tackles for loss, including two sacks, both high-water marks for Hilltopper defensive backs. Brown had one interception at Marshall and returned it for 51 yards, the second-longest return of the season. Also in that Marshall game, he picked up a blocked extra point in the third and returned it 96 yards for two points. Against North Texas, Brown’s strip-sack of quarterback Mason Fine in the second quarter resulted in a turnover and the Hilltoppers scored a touchdown on the ensuing play.
2015 (So.) | 13/4: After converting from running back to defensive back in the spring, Brown made an immediate impact as WKU’s primary nickelback and reserve cornerback as a true sophomore. Brown saw time in 13 games, missing only the Miami (Ohio) game, and tallied 37 tackles (24 solo) including a season-high nine at Indiana. No tackle was bigger, however, that Brown’s tackle of Vanderbilt tight end Nathan Marcus at the one-yard line on a two-point conversion attempt to secure the 14-12 win in the season opener. Brown added his first career interception with a two-yard return at FIU (Nov. 21) and broke up nine passes, including two at North Texas (Oct. 15) and Marshall (Nov. 27). Brown also added 1.5 tackles for loss, including one at North Texas and a half-TFL at LSU.
2014 (Fr.) | 9/0: Playing as a true freshman, Brown appeared in nine games in his first season at WKU. He served primarily on special teams as a returner and gunner in which he made five tackles on kick return coverage. Brown began the season with the running backs but converted to defensive back during the LA Tech game. He had one rush for a yard against UAB and returned five kickoffs for 139 yards, including two for 59 yards against the Bulldogs.
HS/Misc.: Joe Brown earned second team all-star honors in 2013 from the Louisville Courier-Journal while prepping at Butler High School for coach Gary Wheeler. Brown and the Bears tallied an 11-3 record and was named a “Best of the Bluegrass” all-star as well as the Kentucky Football Coaches Association District Player of the Year -- as well as a first-team all-district player. Brown rushed for 1,242 yards with 15 touchdowns and had a receiving touchdown on 86 yards. Brown was a two-star prospect and the No. 10 player in Kentucky by Scout.com, a two-star prospect and the No. 21 player in Kentucky by Rivals.com, and a two-star prospect and No. 26 ranked player in Kentucky by 247sports.com.
