Brian William Russell was born on February 5,1978 and is a former American football safety who played nine seasons in the National Football League from 2001 to 2009.
30 Facts About Brian Russell
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Brian Russell was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2001 and last played for the Houston Texans.
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Brian Russell played college football at The University of Pennsylvania and San Diego State University.
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Brian Russell played at Bishop Amat High School in La Puente, California.
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Brian Russell's team won the Del Rey League championship in 1993,1994, and 1995.
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Brian Russell was named All-Del Rey League and was awarded MVP honors at the annual East-West All-Star Game.
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Brian Russell was recruited and spent his freshman season at Penn, where he became the first quarterback in the history of the school to start as a freshman.
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Brian Russell played in 10 games ; he finished the season with 27 completions in 43 attempts for 320 yards, with four touchdowns and four interceptions.
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However, Brian Russell wanted to play at the Division I-A level.
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Brian Russell was offered a scholarship at San Diego State University to play for coach Ted Tollner and the Aztecs.
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Brian Russell took over as San Diego State's starting quarterback in the second game of the 1998 season.
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Brian 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.
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Brian 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.
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Brian Russell spent the entire 2001 season on the team's practice squad.
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Brian Russell played mostly special teams in 2002, but did see enough action at strong safety to make his first career interception.
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In 2003, Brian Russell became a full-time starter and recorded an interception in each of Minnesota's first six games, a Vikings record.
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Brian Russell 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.
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Brian Russell started all 16 games for the second consecutive season and recorded one interception in the regular season and another in the playoffs.
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Brian Russell set a new career high with 111 tackles, and the Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers in the NFC playoffs, where Brian Russell recorded his first playoff interception, before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles.
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Brian Russell joined the Cleveland Browns as a restricted free agent in 2005.
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Brian Russell was targeted by coach Romeo Crennel in free agency to solidify a young secondary.
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Brian Russell became a defensive leader and the signal caller for a unit that finished 2nd in the NFL in passing yards allowed and 5th in points allowed.
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Brian Russell's season was shortened due to injury the following year ; he totaled 51 tackles and one interception in 12 games before an elbow injury forced the Browns to place him on injured reserve.
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In 2007, Brian Russell signed with the Seattle Seahawks as an unrestricted free agent.
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Head coach Mike Holmgren said that he wanted Brian Russell to be the "quarterback of the defense" for his team.
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Brian Russell made 68 tackles and added an interception in 16 starts in 2007 as part of a secondary that allowed the fewest touchdown passes in franchise history.
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Brian Russell again started 16 games in 2008, marking the 5th time in his career to start every contest.
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Brian Russell signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 8,2009.
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Brian Russell's wife, Leslie, is a former All-American track athlete who attended San Diego State and competed in the 2004 Summer Olympic trials.
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Brian Russell attended the University of Washington Foster School of Business after retiring from the NFL to pursue a master's degree in business administration.