Brandon D. Hughes (born May 23, 1986) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

. After playing

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for Oregon State, he was selected by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

in the fifth round of the

2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

. He was also a member of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

, before retiring in 2014.

Early life

Hughes attended Bloomington High School in

Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...

, where he played wide receiver and

on the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team.

College career

Hughes

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

during his first year playing for Oregon State in 2004. He became a starting

for the Beavers in his redshirt freshman season. Hughes and two other players were ejected from a November 10, 2007, game against

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

for a skirmish after a play. He recorded 57 tackles and 12 pass deflections in 2007. Hughes was named to the Jim Thorpe Award watchlist before his senior season in 2008. He was selected to the 2009

East–West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

following his college career in which he recorded 178 tackles and three interceptions.

Professional career

San Diego Chargers

After running the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

in 4.38 seconds at the 2009

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...

, Hughes was selected by the

in the fifth round (148th overall) of the

. He signed a four-year contract on June 20, 2009. After suffering a knee injury in a preseason game against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

, he was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

on September 1, 2009. He was released during final roster cuts in September 2010.

New York Giants

The

signed Hughes to their

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on September 10, 2010.

Philadelphia Eagles

Hughes was signed off the Giants'

by the

on November 23, 2010, to fill the slot vacated after

Ellis Hobbs Ellis Hue Hobbs III (born May 16, 1983) is a former American football cornerback who played for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Iowa State. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third ...

was placed on the

. He played in one game in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, the final game of the season as the Eagles rested their starters in preparation for the playoffs. In

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, Hughes played in 13 games, started one, and recorded 16 tackles throughout those games. On September 23, 2012, the Eagles announced that they signed Hughes to a one-year extension. On September 7, 2013, Hughes was released by the Eagles. On September 10, 2013, Hughes was re-signed by the Eagles. On September 23, 2013, Hughes was released by the Eagles with an injury settlement.

Cleveland Browns

Hughes signed with the

on January 2, 2014. Hughes was released from the Browns on May 12, 2014.

References

External links

Philadelphia Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Brandon 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Bloomington, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois American football cornerbacks Oregon State Beavers football players San Diego Chargers players New York Giants players Philadelphia Eagles players Cleveland Browns players Bloomington High School (Bloomington, Illinois) alumni