Louisville football: The 50 greatest Cardinals of all time

One of the hardest-hitting, pad popping, prototypical linebackers to ever come through the Louisville football program was Preston Brown.

A walking embodiment of a Charlie Strong defense, Brown was a force to be reckoned with for four years as a Cardinal.

Though he does not rank in the top 10 all time in tackles for the Cards, he waited in the wing take over at the middle linebacker spot for former Cardinal great Dexter Heyman before exploding onto the scene in his final two seasons.

The most impressive thing about Brown’s game was that when a ball-carrier came in his direction, he was not letting them advance any further than where they met. When Brown made a tackle, it was rarely a smooth takedown of the offensive player. Rarely did the opponent finish a play falling forward.

If you want to build a modern-day middle linebacker, Brown fits the mold perfectly. He is the quarterback of the defense, is a wall of muscle in the run game, yet is quick and agile enough to cover his man across the middle in the passing game.

Brown finished his career at Louisville with 297 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, an interception, three fumbles forced, two recovered and one returned for a touchdown.

A can’t-miss prospect after his senior year, Brown was selected in the third round by the Buffalo Bills. His three years in Buffalo cemented him as one of the top up-and-coming linebackers in the league.

In 2017, Brown led the NFL in tackles and secured a lucrative contract with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2018. After sitting out the latter half of the 2018 NFL season, Brown recently signed a three-year extension to keep him with the Bengals through 2021.