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Sigs mourn the loss of brother, lineman Christopher Brown as he enters Chapter Eternal too early
The college football world was stunned over the unexpected death April 17 of Alpha Upsilon brother and Trojan star lineman Christopher Brown from the 2014-2017 including a Rose Bowl champion team.
His cause of death was not immediately known.
Brown blocked for Quarterback Sam Darnold who said on Instagram "the greatest dude ever" and "Still can't believe this...Rest in peace, brotha."
To his teammate and fellow AU Sig brother Michael Hutchings, it came as a big shock. "Yes," Hutchings said today, "great guy and great family."
Head Coach Clay Helton said on twitter: Heartbroken to hear the news that we lost Chris Brown today. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Brown family. Chris meant so much to so many. Great person, player, teammate, and Trojan. God bless my friend. You are forever in our hearts."
Here's what the USC Trojan Athletic Department said about his stellar career at USC: "Brown, a Los Angeles native and a Loyola High School graduate, committed to USC in December of 2013. He signed with USC in 2014 and enrolled in 2015. He played on the two most successful teams of Clay Helton’s tenure, the two teams quarterbacked by Sam Darnold in 2016 and 2017. The 2016 team won the Rose Bowl in a classic game against Penn State. The 2017 won USC’s only Pac-12 championship since 2008, defeating Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship Game. USC reached the Cotton Bowl, a New Year’s Six game, and lost to Ohio State.
Chris Brown flourished as an offensive lineman in the 2017 season, starting all 14 games at left guard. He earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention recognition and was the USC Offensive Lineman of the Year. He was an undrafted NFL free agent who signed with the Los Angeles Chargers after the 2019 draft.
Brown wasn’t able to stick with the Chargers. He sought a bounce-back opportunity in professional football with the DC Defenders of the XFL. He was one of three USC players on XFL rosters in 2020, joining Damien Mama of the New York Guardians and De’Quan Hampton of the Los Angeles Wildcats.
Watch this space for announcements of any White Rose Ceremony.