Eddie George Compares Louisville's Isaac Brown to Pro Football Hall of Famer

While the current era of college football has been dominated by airing out the football, there will always be a market for good running backs. No matter how prolific teams get when it comes to the passing game, a good ground game can always ben relied upon.

Over the last 30 years, few running backs have been as good and as accomplished as Eddie George. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1995, then taken in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans, where he was a four-time Pro Bowler. A College Football Hall of Famer, his No. 27 jersey is retired at both Ohio State and with the Titans, and he is regarded as one of the best players in both teams' respective histories.

It goes without saying that George knows a thing or two about the running back position. With that being said, when he offers his thoughts about one, his opinion on them certainly carries more weight.

George - who is now the head coach at Bowling Green - was extremely complementary regarding Isaac Brown, the running back he will be facing when his Falcons march into Louisville this weekend to take on the Cardinals.

In fact, George went as far to compare him to one of the best running backs in the history of the sport: former Chicago Bears star and Pro Football Hall of Famer Gayle Sayers. He even suggested that Brown could one day follow in his own footsteps and win the Heisman Trophy himself.

"As Gayle Sayers used to say: it's (18) inches of daylight, that's all he needs," George said of Brown. "He's explosive, and he can make you pay. It's going to be important for us to corral him. Everything starts with the running back, and he's just a sophomore. He might have a room at the Heisman House one day. That's the way it looks on tape."

The 5-foot-9, 190-pound all-purpose back is off to a hot start to his 2025 campaign. In Louisville's two games so far this season, Brown has rushed for 230 yards and three touchdowns on just 18 carries. His 12.8 yards per carry is currently No. 1 in all of the FBS.

"He's a phenomenal back," George said of Brown. "Doesn't get discouraged when the game isn't necessarily going his way. Through four quarters, you look at JMU, they bottled him up until he had that one explosive (run), and everything else just went from there. You got to have gap integrity, he puts pressure on you to be right almost every single time. The moment you're wrong, there's hell to pay. You got to be real disciplined in terms of your gaps, and making sure you get him down."

Brown put together a dynamic true freshman campaign for the Cardinals last season. Appearing in all 13 games and making nine starts, including the final eight, he rushed for 1,173 yards and 11 touchdowns on 165 carries, while also catching 30 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown.

His rushing yardage placed third in the league, and his rushing touchdown total placed fifth. Not only did he break Lamar Jackson's true freshman rushing mark at Louisville, he tied Jackson's true freshman record for 100-yard rushing games with five.

Brown also became the Cardinals' first true freshman to ever rush for over 1,000 yards. His yardage total was also the most among power conference true freshmen, and the second-most among FBS true freshmen, trailing only Ahmad Hardy's 1,351 at ULM.

As a result, Brown took home numerous accolades. He earned Second-Team All-ACC honors, was named the ACC Offensive and Overall Rookie of the Year, and was named a Freshman All-American by PFF and 247Sports.

Louisville and Bowling Green will kick off on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 12:00 p.m. EST.