Norris Brown, Georgia football national champion tight end, dead at 65

Former Georgia Bulldogs tight end Norris Brown, who was a part of the 1980 national championship team, has died at age 65.Brown died last Friday, according to GoLaurens.com.He starred at Laurens District High School in South Carolina before heading to Athens in 1979, where he helped capture three consecutive SEC titles from 1980-82 in one of the most glorious eras in Bulldogs history under head coach Vince Dooley.The 1980 championship season saw the Bulldogs go a perfect 12-0 and defeat Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl to clinch their second national title in program history.Brown caught 12 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns en route to the 1980 championship.He ended his Georgia career with 44 catches for 832 yards and 10 touchdowns.Brown was teammates with several Georgia football legends, including Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker.Buck Belue, who was Brown’s quarterback during the perfect season, expressed his condolences.“Heavy heart this weekend hearing about the passing of former UGA teammate TE Norris Brown.

Talented & skilled athlete & a wonderful teammate.I will miss him!” Belue wrote on X.After his run with the Bulldogs, Brown was selected 213th overall by the Vikings in the eighth round of the 1983 NFL Draft.

That year, he played in two games for the Vikings before moving on to the USFL, where he saw time with the New Jersey Generals and the Jacksonville Bulls before his professional career ended in 1985.“Norris Brown was smiling all the way home,” Belue reflected on Brown’s touchdown in the SEC-clinching game against Auburn in 1980.“RIP Norris Brown.”No cause of death was listed in Brown’s obituary....