Earnest Brown IV: DL · Northwestern · #99.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Earnest Brown IV
Disrupts the pocket from the interior. Fourth year in the same defensive front at Northwestern. A game that shows it: 8 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Michigan State — Week 13, 2020.
Play style
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
28 tackles. 4 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 7.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
OregonLive Oct 29Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Northwestern | 32 | 23 | 8.5 | 1.0 | 4 |
| 2019 | Northwestern | 16 | 9 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2 |
| 2018 | Northwestern | 22 | 13 | 7.5 | 4.0 | 3 |
| 2017 | Northwestern | 1 | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 71 | 45 | 18.5 | 7.0 | 9 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2020 season · 8 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 8 | W 43-3vs Maryland | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 21-20@ Iowa | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 10 | W 21-13vs Nebraska | 5 | 4 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 11 | W 27-20@ Purdue | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | W 17-7vs No. 10 Wisconsin | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 20-29@ Michigan State | 8 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 15 | W 28-10vs Illinois | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 16 | L 10-22vs No. 3 Ohio State | 5 | 4 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 28 | 20 | 7.5 | 1.0 | — | 4 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
27%8 TFLSack rate
3%1 sackHurry rate
9%3 hurries32 tackles · 8.5 for loss · 1 sack.
4 seasons under Pat Fitzgerald — 29-19 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2020 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 2.8 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road3g | 4.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 8+8g | 3.5 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Pat Fitzgerald
Pass share
42.4%
283 pass / 384 run
Plays / game
83.4
8 games
Team sack rate
4.3%
303 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2020
More tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
How it ended
Four seasons at Northwestern, 7 sacks — drafted at #174 overall by the Los Angeles Rams.
A stat line in 28 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2017–2020
1 coachPlayed every college season under Pat Fitzgerald.
Next stop · NFL
Los Angeles RamsEntering 6th NFL season
Los Angeles RamsEntering 6th NFL season
