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Former Virginia Tech All-American and Tech Sports Hall of Fame member Cornell Brown is in his third season on the Hokies’ coaching staff, working with the outside linebackers and helping out with the defensive ends.

The Lynchburg, Va., native joined the coaching ranks in 2005 as a coaching assistant working with linebackers for the Cologne Centurions in the NFL-Europe League. Brown became a full time defensive line coach for the Frankfurt Galaxy the following year and helped the team to back-to-back World Bowl appearances, winning the league title in 2006. While coaching the defensive line, he helped develop free-agent tackle Remi Ayodele of the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints.

NFL-Europe’s schedule allowed Brown to also work as a graduate assistant coach at Virginia Tech during the Hokies’ 2006 and 2007 seasons. He helped develop defensive units that led the nation in total defense and scoring defense in ’06 and were ranked third and fourth, respectively, in those categories in 2007. He had a helping hand in developing draft choices Chris Ellis, Carlton Powell and Jason Worilds.

Brown attended Virginia Tech and played defensive end from 1993 through 1996, helping the Hokies to a bowl game each season. 

Brown became the first Virginia Tech football player to gain consensus All-America honors as a junior when he was named to five first teams in 1995. Brown was a first-team A-A pick by AP, UPI, the Football Writers Association, The Sporting News and Football News. He finished the year with 103 total tackles, including a BIG EAST-leading 14 sacks. 

He was selected National Defensive Player of the Year by Football News and was one of five finalists for the Defensive Player of the Year. In 1996, Brown missed three games, but still earned first-team honors from Walter Camp and second-team recognition from AP. He posted eight sacks, five other tackles behind the line, 19 quarterback hurries and 58 total tackles during the ‘96 season.

Brown had his Tech jersey retired on Nov. 20, 2002, during the West Virginia game. He was also inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in April of 2013.

A sixth-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens, Brown played seven seasons in the NFL and was a member of the Ravens’ Super Bowl XXXV championship team.