Illinois RB Dre Brown tears ACL, will miss second straight season

Illinois running back Dre Brown will miss his second straight season after tearing his ACL, he announced on Twitter on Tuesday.

The injury is to his left knee, almost exactly a year after he tore the ACL in his right knee.

“Don’t know why it happened to me. Going to try and keep my head up. Pray for me,” the redshirt freshman said on Twitter.

GET READY TO COMPETE

Pick your champion (you can change it later). We’ll email you when brackets open.

No purchase necessary. 50 U.S./D.C. 18+. Entry opens 3PM ET Dec 6, 2026 and closes 8PM ET Dec 18, 2026. Void where prohibited.See for complete details. The College Football Playoff (CFP) is not a sponsor or administrator of this contest.

Breaks my heart to announce this. Don't know why it happened to me... Going to try and keep my head up. Pray for me. pic.twitter.com/4777m4DydB
— Dre Brown (@DreBrownILL) April 20, 2016

Earlier this month, Illinois also lost wide receiver Mike Dudek to a season-ending ACL injury for the second consecutive year.

Brown was most likely slated to be the backup running back for the Fighting Illini behind sophomore Ke’Shawn Vaughn.

Illinois opens its season against Murray State on Sept. 3 at home.

Add us as a preferred source on Google