Dru Brown

Dru Brown (born March 21, 1997) is an American professional football quarterback for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Oklahoma State Cowboys and Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

College career Brown did not start until his senior season of high school and did not receive any Division I offers. He attended the College of San Mateo in his freshman year, playing in 11 games, and completed 104 of 194 passes for 1,870 yards and 21 touchdowns. He then transferred to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa for the 2016 season.

Hawaii 2016 After not playing in the Rainbow Warriors' first three games, Brown entered their fourth game against the Arizona Wildcats in the second half, replacing Ikaika Woolsey. Brown was able to direct the Rainbow Warriors to three touchdown drives in the second half, but they lost to Arizona 47–28. He was named the starting quarterback before the Rainbow Warriors match against Nevada Wolf Pack. Against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders in the 2016 Hawaii Bowl, he threw for 274 yards and four touchdowns while also accounting for a rushing touchdown en route to a 52–35 victory. He was also named one of the game's most valuable player for his efforts.

2017 Coming off of Hawaii's first bowl victory in ten years, Brown was once again named the starting quarterback for the 2017 season. He threw for 2,785 yards and 18 touchdowns that season on a struggling Rainbow Warriors team that lost nine of the last ten games, mostly attributed to a battered offensive line whose position coach left mid-way through the season, and top receiver John Ursua lost to a torn anterior cruciate ligament. After the 2017 season, he announced his intention to transfer, enrolled at Oklahoma State University as a graduate transfer, and was immediately eligible to play. He finished his career at Hawaii with 5,273 career passing yards and 37 touchdowns.

Oklahoma State 2018 At Oklahoma State, Brown joined a crowded QB room competing for the Cowboys starting quarterback job following the departure of the four-year starter Mason Rudolph. Brown was named the primary back-up quarterback to the starter Taylor Cornelius before the start of 2018 season. Despite playing in the Cowboys' 2018 Liberty Bowl, Brown was able to redshirt under the NCAA's new redshirt policy and keep his final year of eligibility.

2019 Following Cornelius' graduation and departure, Brown was one of the favorites to win the starting quarterback job, competing for it with redshirt freshman Spencer Sanders. Brown was once again named the primary back-up as Sanders was named the starting quarterback for the Cowboys' season opener against the Oregon State Beavers.

After Sanders suffered a hand injury in the middle of a game against the Kansas Jayhawks, Brown entered the game in relief and threw a touchdown pass on his first play. He finished the game with 3 completions on 5 attempts for 70 yards and a touchdown in the 31–6 victory. He started his first career game as a Cowboy against the West Virginia Mountaineers the following week, where he racked up 196 yards and two touchdowns in a 20–13 victory. For his performance against West Virginia, he was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week.

Professional career

Winnipeg Blue Bombers (first stint)

Following his college career, Brown was added to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers roster on March 11, 2020. However, he did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the 2020 CFL season. In 2021, he was the fourth-string quarterback and spent most of the year on the practice roster. However, after the Blue Bombers clinched first place, Brown dressed in his first professional game on November 13, 2023, against the Montreal Alouettes. During the 2023 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season, Brown again took over the offence after Collaros left the game with an upper body injury after a high hit during a week 9 game against the Edmonton Elks. He brought the Bombers back from a 22 point deficit throwing for 307 yards and four touchdowns as the Bombers beat the Elks 38-29. He made two starts in 2023, winning both of them, and set a new CFL record for the most touchdown passes (9) without recording an interception.

Ottawa Redblacks As a pending free agent, Brown's playing rights were traded to the Ottawa Redblacks on January 18, 2024, in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2024 CFL draft. On January 24, 2024, it was announced that Brown had signed a two-year contract, with a minimum $286,000 plus $54,000 in playtime incentives in 2024, and a minimum $355,000 plus $45,000 in playtime incentives in 2025. Brown was named the team's starter ahead of the season and led the team to their first playoff appearance since 2018, eventually losing to the Toronto Argonauts in the Eastern Semi-Final. By season's end, Brown had started 15 games and passed for 3,959 yards, 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

After an injury-plagued 2025 which saw him start just nine games and go 2-7 as a starter, Brown lost the starting job to Jake Maier heading into the 2026 season. He dressed as the backup quarterback in the first two games of the regular season, both losses, and did not see any playing time.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers On June 23, 2026, it was announced that Brown had been traded back to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers along with a second-round selection in the 2027 CFL draft in exchange for a first-round selection in the 2027 draft and a conditional second-round selection in the 2028 CFL draft.

Career statistics CFL Regular season Year Team Games Passing Rushing 2020 WPG Season cancelled 2021 WPG 2 0 — 7 14 50.0 49 3.5 0 0 58.3 7 44 6.3 0 2022 WPG 18 1 0–1 33 50 66.0 452 9.0 5 2 111.4 19 39 2.1 3 2023 WPG 18 2 2–0 62 89 69.7 983 11.0 9 0 139.9 11 30 2.7 2 2024 OTT 17 15 8–6–1 312 464 67.2 3,959 8.5 18 10 97.2 14 57 4.1 0 2025 OTT 11 9 2–7 196 274 71.5 2,389 8.7 14 10 99.8 9 18 2.0 0 2026 OTT 2 0 — WPG 1 1 1–0 25 31 80.6 339 10.9 1 1 109.5 0 0 0.0 0 CFL career 69 28 13–14–1 635 922 68.9 8,171 8.9 47 23 103.0 60 188 3.1 5

Postseason Year Team Games Passing Rushing 2021 WPG 0 0 — 2022 WPG 2 0 — 1 1 100.0 12 12.0 0 0 111.4 0 0 0.0 0 2023 WPG 2 0 — 2024 OTT 1 1 0–1 46 61 75.4 476 7.8 3 2 100.2 3 3 1.0 0 CFL career 5 1 0–1 47 62 75.8 488 7.9 3 2 100.7 3 3 1.0 0

College YearTeam Games Passing Rushing 2015 San Mateo 11 11 7–4 104 194 53.6 1,879 9.7 21 8 162.4 63 188 3.0 6 2016 Hawaii 13 10 6–4 209 335 62.4 2,488 7.4 19 7 139.3 88 306 3.5 4 2017 Hawaii 12 12 3–9 254 412 61.7 2,785 6.8 18 8 129.0 58 7 0.1 2 2018 Oklahoma State 1 0 — 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 2019 Oklahoma State 7 3 1–2 72 107 67.3 810 7.6 7 1 150.6 23 6 0.3 1Career 44 36 17−19 639 1,048 58.1 7,962 8.4 65 24 149.1 132 507 3 13