Brown Decides to Leave Nebraska for NFL : Football: Husker running back, a former Servite standout, will bypass his senior season and make himself available for the draft.

Nebraska junior Derek Brown, long known as an elusive running back, pulled a move that surprised even Cornhusker Coach Tom Osborne on Thursday.

Coming off a season in which he battled a shoulder injury and shared time as Nebraska’s starting I-back, Brown decided to bypass his senior season to enter the NFL draft, April 25-26.

Brown, a former Servite High standout, became one of 37 undergraduates granted eligibility Thursday for the NFL draft. He was considered one of the draft’s biggest surprises, catching even Osborne off guard.

“Derek indicated to us (Wednesday) afternoon that he planned to return for his senior year,” Osborne said. “We’ll have to assume that it (declaring for the draft) is true. It’s very surprising to us because he had indicated all along that he was not going to do this.”

Brown, who was unavailable for comment Thursday, filed just before the midnight Wednesday eligibility deadline.

Kendall Blackburn, a former Servite assistant coach who advised Brown, said the running back told Nebraska assistant coach Frank Solich of his decision on Wednesday.

“As far as Derek’s concerned, he had already told Nebraska what he was going to do,” said Blackburn, now an assistant coach at Mater Dei.

Blackburn said Brown was in Phoenix Thursday interviewing with an agent. He said Brown decided to turn pro while visiting with Blackburn Monday night.

“We stayed up all night and talked about it,” Blackburn said. “There are a bunch of reasons why he decided to petition. The main reason was that he wanted to do something to help his family.

“He felt he reached his peak at Nebraska, with him and Calvin Jones sharing the I-back position. Next year would have been another 1,000-yard season.”

Brown rushed for 1,011 yards and four touchdowns last season before suffering a separated right shoulder in a late-season victory over Oklahoma.

After missing a game, he returned for Nebraska’s 27-14 Orange Bowl loss to Florida State, carrying four times for 13 yards before re-injuring the shoulder.

Brown was one of nine undergraduate running backs eligible, including Heisman Trophy finalist Garrison Hearst of Georgia, Notre Dame’s Jerome Bettis, Ohio State’s Robert Smith and Clemson’s Ronald Williams.

Brown rushed for 4,878 yards in his four-year career at Servite and was named Southern California’s player of the year in 1988, his senior season.

After sitting out a year to meet academic requirements, Brown rushed for 389 yards as a part-time starter his freshman season. He played in eight games before a shoulder injury sidelined him for the final three regular-season games. He returned to rush for 99 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Georgia Tech in the Citrus Bowl.

As a sophomore, he was second in the Big Eight in rushing with 1,339 yards.