Born and raised in Edenton, North Carolina, Brown played scholastically at John A. Holmes High School.

[1] He began his collegiate career at Chowan Junior College in Murfreesboro, North Carolina, where he was named to the Coastal Conference first-team and was an honorable mention junior college All-American.

[2] He went on to play for the Virginia Tech Hokies,[3] where, as a senior, he was honored by the Newspaper Enterprise Association as a second-team All-American.

[4] Brown was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth-round of the 1982 NFL draft.

For his career, Brown recorded 25.5 sacks and 13 fumble recoveries.