Brian Russell
Brian William Russell is an American former professional football player who was a safety for nine seasons in the National Football League from 2001 to 2009. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2001 and last played for the Houston Texans. He played college football for the Penn Quakers and Aztecs football|San Diego State Aztecs].
Russell has also played for the Cleveland Browns, Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Early life
Russell played at Bishop Amat High School in La Puente, California. 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 was awarded MVP honors at the annual East-West All-Star Game.He was recruited and spent his freshman season at the University of Pennsylvania, where he became the first quarterback in the history of the school to start as a freshman. He played in 10 games ; 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. He was offered a scholarship at San Diego State University to play for coach Ted Tollner and the Aztecs.
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. Russell quarterbacked the Aztecs the rest of the season and led them to the Las Vegas Bowl, 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 1999 year as the team's starting QB but was asked to switch to safety, a better fit for his skill set, allowing JUCO transfer Jack Hawley to assume QB responsibilities. Because of his excellent athleticism, Russell immediately became the starter at free safety 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 was solid, he made 68 tackles, recovered two fumbles, and intercepted one pass. For his efforts, he was named All-Mountain West Conference.
Professional career
Minnesota Vikings
After going undrafted in the 2001 NFL draft, 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 considered cutting 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.In 2003, Russell became a full-time starter and recorded an interception in each of Minnesota's first six games, a Vikings record. He finished the regular season with nine interceptions, tied for the most in the NFL with Tony Parrish, and led the team in tackles with 95. His best game of the season was against the Kansas City Chiefs, where he tied a team record with three takeaways.
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, where Russell recorded his first playoff interception, before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles.