Marquise Brown

Marquise Brown

No. 28 – Baltimore Hawks
Position:	Runningback
Personal information
Born:	(2001-10-04)October 4, 2001 (aged 64) Brooklyn, NY
Height:	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:	230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High school:	Pahokee High School
College:	Florida State University
ISFL Draft:	2024  / Round: 1 / Pick: 3
DSFL Draft:	2023  / Round: 3 / Pick: 9
Career history
Roster status:	Active
Career NSFL statistics as of Week 14, 2025
Rushing Yards: 3473 Rushing Touchdowns: 22 Rushing Attempts: 816 Yards Per Carry: 4.2 Longest Run: 20

Marquise Brown (born October 4th, 2001) is an American football runningback for the Baltimore Hawks of the National Simulation Football League (NSFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles before entering the professional ranks in 2023.

Early years

Marquise Brown was born in Brooklyn, New York to Rachel Bush and Darius Brown. When Brown was one, he moved with his father to Pahokee, Florida, where he would learn to love the game of football. When he was 15, Brown made the Pahokee Blue Devils freshman team as a runningback. He'd go on to rush for 4,954 yards and 61 touchdowns, breaking Derrick Henry's state high school record for most rushing yards in a single season. He was named a 1st team All-Coast runningback. The following year, he moved up to the varsity team, rushing for 13,623 yards and 204 touchdowns during his time as a varsity runningback, the most rushing yards and touchdowns of any Florida high school runningback. While in college, Brown was scouted heavily by college scouts and was named the best high school runningback in the nation in his senior year. He committed to Florida State University in 2019.

College career

Brown entered Florida State as the leader of a split backfield, paired with runningback Ricky Adams. He finished off his 3 year college career with a total of 4,717 rushing yards and 55 rushing touchdowns and led the Florida State Seminoles to two Orange Bowl appearances and a National Championship appearance.

As a true freshman, Brown started off the season with high expectations and was expected to carry the load of the backfield and for the offense. Florida State ran a "run-first" west coast offense with Brown rarely being used as a receiver. He finished off the season as third in the league in rushing yards with 2060 and leading the league in rushing touchdowns with 26. It was in this season that Brown garnered the nickname "Touchdown Brown". He led the Seminoles to an Orange Bowl appearance against the Oklahoma Sooners, where they'd lose 32-10.

As a true sophomore, Brown broke the sophomore record for most rushing touchdowns in a single season with 32 and rushed for 2,546 rushing yards. He led the Florida State Seminoles offense to be one of the best in College Football with junior quarterback James Blackman as the starting QB. Brown led the team to another Orange Bowl appearance, this time against the Texas Aggies, where they would lose 42-39.

As a true junior, Brown had announced that this would be his last year of college football and that he would be declaring for the DSFL draft once the season was over. Brown went out with a bang, rushing for 2,321 rushing yards and 26 rushing touchdowns in what some had called the best offense in college football with junior quarterback Jeremiah Davidson in the starting spot. The team went to the National Championship where they would lose to the Alabama Crimson Tide 52-39.

College career statistics

			Rushing						Receiving				Kick Returns			Punt Returns
Season	Team	GP	Att	Yds	Avg	Yds/G	Long	TD	Rec	Yds	Long	TD	Yds	Avg	KR TD	Yds	Avg	PR TD
2020	FSU	16	397	2060	5.2	128.7	82	26	12	124	91	4	888	21.4	0	653	10.1	0
2021	FSU	16	411	2546	6.2	159.1	76	32	8	42	20	2	421	26.3	1	284	12.9	1
2022	FSU	16	385	2321	6	145	91	26	11	102	34	1	253	12.6	0	341	10.6	2

Professional career

Brown declared for the 2023 DSFL Draft (S8) a week before the draft and he was immediately recognized as a promising prospect among four other talented runningbacks in the draft, Elijah Lagerfield, Ricky Adams (his Florida State teammate), and LaMarcus Strike. The Portland Pythons selected Lagerfield with the fourth pick and Brown was selected by the Marshals with the ninth pick. Meanwhile, Adams and Strike were selected with the 15th and 18th picks respectively. In Brown's rookie year, the Marshals finished 11-3, tying the franchise record for most wins in a season. Brown ended up breaking the franchise record for rushing yardage and rushing touchdowns in a single season previously held by DJ Riddick, and broke the DSFL record for most rushing touchdowns in a single season, previously held by Borro Gore. At the end of the season, he was voted Offensive Player of the Year. The team ended up losing the 2023 SFC Championship (S8) to the Tijuana Luchadores. Brown entered the 2024 ISFL Draft (S9) shortly after.

Going into the draft, Brown was expected to go in the mid to late first round, even being mocked in the second by some. However, he ended up being taken with the third pick by a rebuilding Philadelphia Liberty team. After he was drafted, Brown signed a three-year rookie deal worth $16 million. He decided to stay down in the DSFL and play another year as a Marshal for the first year of his contract, 2023. The Marshals had gotten significantly weaker after losing star players such as Bucky Barnes, Kevin Fitzpatrick, and Brock Weathers III. The Marshals ended up drafting a developing Zenyou Wozy in the draft, leading to them leaning on Brown for most of the season on the offensive side of the ball. In week 7, the Marshals signed free agent Devo Cansino to the team, adding another back to the backfield. The two ended up splitting carries, with Cansino often being used on goal-line and short yardage situations, and Brown generally being used everywhere else. The two totaled for 2,129 rushing yards, with Brown amassing a record breaking 1,665 rushing yards, 331 attempts, and 13 touchdowns. The team ended up losing the 2024 SFC Championship (S9) again to the Luchadores. After the season ended, Brown announced that he would be moving up to the Liberty, thanking the Marshals organization and their fans.

Immediately after the 2025 (S10) draft, the Liberty were expected to be the worst team in the NSFL again with an aging Logan Noble at QB. Brown was one of the only bright spots of the Liberty's season, putting up incredible numbers amidst a weak offense. Brown ended up breaking both the single season rushing yardage record and the single season attempts record during his rookie year of the NSFL, racking up 1,901 rushing yards, 451 carries, and 7 touchdowns. Brown ended up winning the Offensive Rookie Of The Year award, and was nominated for 3 other awards including Runningback Of The Year, Most Outstanding Player, and Most Valuable Player. Brown showed the league why he should be considered one of the best young players in the game with a very bright future. Going into 2026 (S11), his contract year, Brown stated that he wanted to be with the Liberty long term, though with a big asking price. Brown would be given the opportunity to prove once more why he deserved to be paid, and with a young Template:Adriana Falconi coming in for her rookie season as quarterback for the Liberty, he wanted to be able to show the front office and the rest of the league what he could do with a better quarterback. Shortly after 2026 (S11) started, Brown signed a 3 year, 14 million dollar contract extension with Philadelphia. He stated in a Players Tribune article that he was proud to play in Liberty colors and wanted to stay with the team for the rest of his career.

With a new contract, new quarterback, and almost a new team, Brown was motivated to perform and finally get to the playoffs. The Liberty were one of the biggest surprises of 2026 (S11), shocking the league by defeating the undefeated Baltimore Hawks at home on week 6 with a final score of 30 - 14. In an interview after the game with Stephen B. Smifter, Brown stated that the win "put the league on notice". The Liberty ended the year with a 7-7 record, a big improvement over the 0-14 record from the previous season. They finished third in the NSFC, ineligible for the playoffs after a heartbreaking loss against the 1-13 San Jose Sabercats. Brown finished off the season leading the league in rushing yards for the second time in a row with 1571. He finished third in rushing touchdowns with 15, and led the league in attempts with 365. The team was also able to utilize Brown's receiving ability with a rookie QB. He had career highs in both the NSFL and DSFL with receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns with 52, 290, and 2 respectively. Brown was nominated for RBotY.

Baltimore Hawks rivalry

Throughout his NSFL career, Brown and the Baltimore Hawks have had an animosity towards each other. The earliest hint of this rivalry is in a Player's Tribune article that Brown posted going into the 2024 (S9) draft which ranked Baltimore as his least favorite possible draft destination to go to.

The rivalry ramped up in his first game against the Hawks, getting into a brawl with former Hawks defensive end Arbin Asipi Jr.. They traded insults in interviews after the game.

When Ryan Applehort signed a contract to come to Baltimore in 2026 (S11), Brown said that the move was "weak" and called Applehort a "cupcake". He also said that the Hawks' front office was "stupid for paying that mediocre QB".

In week 6 of 2026 (S11) after a win over the Hawks, Brown was reportedly taunting the Hawks' sideline, yelling out insults and dancing. Brown was ultimately fined for the measure. When asked about the fine in a press conference, Brown said that it was "worth it".

Controversy

During 2026 (S11), Brown was accused of taking performance enhancing substances for training, specifically illegal amounts of avocado. Brown denied these claims, saying that the amount of avocado he was taking was under the limit of fair use that the league put in place. The league gave Brown a 6 million dollar fine and was banned from practice for two weeks. Brown ended up appealing the punishment, but the appeal was denied.

Professional career statistics

			Rushing						Receiving				Kick Returns			Punt Returns
Season	Team	GP	Att	Yds	Avg	Yds/G	Long	TD	Rec	Yds	Long	TD	Yds	Avg	KR TD	Yds	Avg	PR TD
2023 (S8)	SAM	14	264	1222	4.6	87.3	29	15	15	81	17	0	428	15.3	0	389	8.1	1
2024 (S9)	SAM	14	331	1665	5	118.9	90	13	13	92	12	0	755	23.6	2	167	6.7	0
2025 (S10)	PHI	14	451	1902	4.2	135.8	18	7	6	33	8	0
2026 (S11)	PHI	14	365	1571	4.3	112.2	20	15	52	290	35	2	826	23.6	0

Achievements and Records

Awards

• DSFL Offensive Player Of The Year: 2023 (S8)
• '"DSFL Offensive Player Of The Year:'" 2024 (S9)
• '"NSFL Offensive Rookie Of The Year:'" 2025 (S10)

DSFL records

• 2023 Most rushing touchdowns in a single season (15)
• 2024 Most rushing yards in a single season (1,665)

NSFL records

• 2025 Most rushing yards in a single season (1,901)
• 2025 Most rushing attempts in a single season (452)
• 2025 Most fumbles in a single game (3)

San Antonio Marshals franchise records

• 2023 Most rushing touchdowns in a single season (15)
• 2024 Most rushing yards in a single season (1,665)
• 2024 Most rushing attempts in a single season (331)
• 2024 Longest run in a single season (90 yds)
• 2024 Most kickoff return yards in a single season (755)
• 2024 Most kickoff return touchdowns in a single season (2)
• 2024 Most rush attempts in a single game (43)
• 2024 Most rushing yards in a single game (223)
• 2024 Longest run in a single game (90)
• 2024 Most kickoff return yards in a single game (127)
• 2024 Most kickoff returns in a single game (1)
• 2024 Longest kickoff return in a single game (98)
• 2024 Longest punt return in a playoff game (17)
• 2024 Longest kickoff return (98)

Philadelphia Liberty franchise records

• 2025 Most rushing yards in a single season (1,901)
• 2025 Most rushing attempts in a single season (452)
• 2025 Most rushing yards in a single game (168)
• 2025 Most rushing attempts in a single game (41)
• 2026 Most rushing touchdowns in a single season (15)