Brian Calhoun (born May 8, 1984) is a former gridiron football

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

. He also was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the third round of the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with add ...

. He played college football at

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. He is coaching high school track and field, football, and sports fitness training in the greater Milwaukee area. He is also a fitness trainer at DSHA (Divine Savior Holy Angels) in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

Early years

Calhoun achieved numerous honors playing high school football and track and field at Oak Creek High School in

Oak Creek, Wisconsin Oak Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located in Milwaukee County, it sits on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan and is located immediately south of Milwaukee. The city is one of the fastest growing in Milwaukee County and al ...

. He rushed for over 5,000 yards, scored 82 touchdowns, was named the Gatorade State Player of the Year, team MVP,

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

, first-team all-state, and was ranked the nation’s 12th best running back by Rivals.com.

Track and field

Also a standout track athlete, Calhoun was named the Track and Field MVP for four years and was a member of the 2001 USA Junior Team that competed at the World Youth Championships in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

, placing seventh in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

, with a leap of 7.39 meters. Because of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

transfer rules, Brian had to sit out the entire 2004 season. However, he kept himself busy by participating on the scout team and on the 4 x 100 metres relay team. The relay team would go on to become the 2005

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

champions. He ran the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contes ...

in 10.5 seconds and the 200 meters in 21.2 seconds, and participated in the high jump, posting a best leap of 2.07 meter. He ran the 200 meters and took part in the

competition at both the Air Force Classic and Frank Sevigne Invite, while advancing to the Big 12 Championships in the

. Calhoun earned a pair of 13th-place finishes in the 200 meters.

College career

After playing football at

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

for his freshman (2002) and sophomore (2003) years, Calhoun decided to return home and attend the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

. During his two years at Colorado, Calhoun was named the ABC Player of the Game against

Nebraska University Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

in 2002 and again against

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

in 2003. Named the Player of the game against Iowa State,

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

and was named honorable mention All

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

. Because of

transfer rules, Brian had to sit out the entire 2004 season. However, he kept himself busy by participating on the scout team and on the 4 × 100-meter relay team. The relay team would go on to become the 2005

champions. In the 2003 season, Calhoun took over for an injured Bobby Purify and carried the ball 195 times for 810 yards and 5 touchdowns. Calhoun enjoyed a fantastic 2005 with the Wisconsin Badgers by leading the nation with 348 rushing touches for 1,636 yards and 53 receiving touches for 571 yards. He finished with 22 rushing and 2 receiving touchdowns. His 22 rushing touchdowns were a school record. In addition, his 2,207 all purpose yards, ranks 2nd in school history. Became the 2nd player in Big Ten history with 1000 rushing and 500 receiving yards in one season. Became the 2nd player in NCAA history with 1,500 yards rushing and 500 receiving yards in one a season irst done in 1991 Was named to the Big Ten First-team, 2nd Team All-American by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

. Named as a semifinalist for the

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best al ...

Doak Walker Award Since 1990 the Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. It is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Football Le ...

and blossomed into a dark horse Heisman Trophy candidate, but faded towards the end of the season. Calhoun was named the MVP of the 2006

Capital One Bowl The Citrus Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Cheez-It Bowl and Florida Classic. The gam ...

, after gaining 213 yards and scoring a touchdown in the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivis ...

victory over the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year coeducational university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...

Professional career

2006 NFL Combine

Detroit Lions

Calhoun decided to forgo his senior season at Wisconsin and entered the

. He was selected in the third round (pick #74) by the Detroit Lions. Calhoun was placed on injured reserve for the season in November after tearing his ACL. Calhoun was released on May 4, 2009, finishing his Lions career with 54 rushing yards, 55 receiving yards and 221 kick return yards and 0 touchdowns. {{DEFAULTSORT:Calhoun, Brian 1984 births Living people People from Oak Creek, Wisconsin Players of American football from Atlanta Players of American football from Wisconsin American football running backs Colorado Buffaloes football players Wisconsin Badgers football players Detroit Lions players Sportspeople from the Milwaukee metropolitan area