Brian Westbrook

Brian Collins Westbrook (born September 2, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL).

Westbrook played for the Villanova Wildcats football team while attending Villanova University from 1997 to 2001.

Though he battled through several injuries, he holds the all-time NCAA record with 9,512 all-purpose yards, breaking the 9,301 yards accumulated by Brian Shay of Emporia State University.

In 46 career games, he scored 542 points with 84 touchdowns, carried the ball 725 times for 4,298 yards (6.2 avg.), caught 219 passes for 2,582 yards (11.79 avg.) and gained 2,289 yards and four touchdowns on kickoff returns.

Along the way, he established 41 school, 13 Atlantic 10 Conference, and five NCAA records.

Westbrook became the only player in I-AA history to score 160 or more points in two different seasons and the first player in the history of college football at any level with 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards in one season (1998).

He is one of only three players in Villanova history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season and he accomplished that feat three times.

Westbrook was a consensus All-America and two-time CAA offensive player of the year and was the 2001 recipient of the Walter Payton Award (as the top player in NCAA Division I-AA).

As a senior, he amassed 2,823 combined net yards and scored 29 touchdowns.

He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2002 NFL draft after playing college football for the Villanova Wildcats.

Despite his dominance in college, NFL teams were hesitant to draft him in the 2002 NFL draft for three reasons: his small size (he was listed at only 5'8", 200 lb (91 kg)), his injury history (he missed an entire college season with a knee injury), and the fact that he did not play college football for an NCAA Division I-A school. Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid liked what he had seen from Westbrook and drafted him in the third round with the 91st overall pick.

Westbrook saw limited time in the 2002 season, but he threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Todd Pinkston on a trick play in a September 2002 rout of the Dallas Cowboys.

He made his historical mark in the NFL in the 2003 season with a fourth quarter punt return for a touchdown to defeat the New York Giants 14–10 in the closing minutes on October 19, 2003.

The play managed to turn the Eagles' season around as they went to the NFC Championship Game.

Westbrook, who scored 11 touchdowns by ground and air, missed the playoffs that year after tearing a triceps muscle in the final game of the season against the Washington Redskins.

Following an eight-year career with the Eagles, in which he earned two Pro Bowl selections in 2004 and 2007, Westbrook signed with the San Francisco 49ers, for whom he played in 2010.

Westbrook is also currently the Director of Player Engagement for the XFL.

Westbrook attended DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland and was an excellent student and a letterman in football and basketball.

In football, as a senior, he was a first-team All-League selection, a first-team All-Prince George's County selection, and an All-State Honorable Mention selection.

As a junior, he was a first-team All-Washington Catholic Athletic Conference selection and an All-State Honorable Mention selection.

After the departure of previous starter Duce Staley and a pre-season injury to Correll Buckhalter, Westbrook became the starting running back for 2004.

He rushed for a career-high 812 yards, led all NFL running backs in receiving with 73 receptions for 703 yards, and scored nine touchdowns, creating numerous problems with opposing teams' defenses and helping to propel the Eagles to a 13–3 season.

In the playoffs, Westbrook had 117 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown in a 27–14 win against the Vikings, and 135 yards from scrimmage in the NFC Championship win against the Falcons.

Westbrook and the Eagles would go on to play in the city's first Super Bowl in 25 years.

He would have a solid performance in Philadelphia's Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots, rushing for 44 yards, catching seven passes for 60 yards, and scoring one touchdown.

He also played in his first Pro Bowl the following week.

Westbrook signed a five-year contract extension with the Eagles in November 2005, after holding out of training camp and months of hectic negotiations.

On December 6, 2005, with over 1,200 total yards rushing and receiving, it was announced that Westbrook would miss the rest of the 2005 season due to a mid-foot injury he sustained during a 42–0 Monday night loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

During the 2005 season, numerous Eagles starters battled injuries throughout the entire year, and the team finished 6-10 just one year removed from their Super Bowl berth.

Westbrook resumed his productivity in 2006, despite early injury concerns over a swollen knee.

With a season-ending injury to McNabb on November 19, 2006, Westbrook stepped up and became the keystone of the Philadelphia offense.

On November 26, 2006, he became the first Eagle to rush for over 100 yards in three straight games since Wilbert Montgomery did it 25 years earlier.

Westbrook set a career-high in rushing yards with 1,217, topping 1,000 yards for the first time in his career.

He also led the team with 77 receptions for 699 receiving yards.

His 11 total touchdowns (seven rushing and four receiving) were also tops on the Eagles.

On January 7, 2007 Westbrook set a career-postseason rushing record, rushing for 141 yards on 20 carries against the New York Giants, including a 49-yard touchdown.

The following week against the New Orleans Saints, Westbrook nearly willed the team to another playoff victory, scoring two touchdowns in the game.

Westbrook was inducted to the Villanova University Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 2016.

Westbrook was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2023.

He was also inducted into the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame on June 25 of that same year.