[4][5] He anchored the Gators' outstanding offensive line, memorably dubbed "The Great Wall of Florida," and which included Brown, Phil Bromley, Billy Hinson, Crawford Ker and Jeff Zimmerman in 1984.

(The title was later vacated by the SEC university presidents because of NCAA rules violations committed by Charley Pell and the Gators coaching staff between 1979 and 1983.)

[6][7] As part of its 2006 article series about the top 100 players of the first 100 years of Florida football, The Gainesville Sun recognized him as the No.

[8] While Brown was a student at Florida, he was initiated as a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity (Zeta Kappa Chapter).

[10] In his long professional career, he also played for the Arizona Cardinals (1996–1998), the Cleveland Browns (1999), the New York Giants (2000–2001), and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2002),[10] with whom he won a Super Bowl before retiring after 18 seasons in the NFL.

Brown was a remarkably consistent starter in his unusually long-lived career, playing in 263 games and starting 251 of them, and was named to the NFC Pro Bowl team seven straight seasons from 1990 to 1996.

He was a pivotal piece on the offensive line that blocked for perhaps the greatest running back of all-time (Barry Sanders).

[1] Along with Kevin Glover, Brown was a key blocker on a line that paved the way for Sanders, who claimed NFL rushing titles in 1990 and 1994.

In 1991, the Lions set a franchise high with 12 regular season wins and earned a berth in the 1991 NFC Championship Game.

Brown was also a charismatic and respected leader on the team, who graciously donated a great deal of time, energy and money to many charitable causes throughout the Metro Detroit area.

In 2018 he was named as the color analyst for the Detroit Lions radio broadcasts on WJR, replacing Jim Brandstatter.

On December 22, 2012, Brown admitted during an interview on the SVP and Russillo show on ESPN Radio that he purposefully failed to block Green Bay Packers defensive end Sean Jones[13] during a 1994 game so teammate and quarterback Scott Mitchell would get injured and be forced to leave the game.