page:  = Brandon Minor = 
   
   Brandon Ricardo Minor ( born July 24 , 1988 ) is a former American football running back . He was signed by the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2010 , but after being released during the final cuts , he has been on the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts practice squads in 2010 . He played college football at Michigan . 
   At Michigan , he finished second on the team in rushing as a freshman and a sophomore and led the team in rushing as a junior and a senior . As a junior , he was an honorable mention All @-@ Big Ten Conference selection by the coaches . He had previously been ranked as the number one high school football fullback in the nation , according to Rivals.com. 
   He spent his first two years at Michigan serving as one of the primary backups to Mike Hart . In his third year , he emerged from a field of five runners who were vying to replace Hart , including two true freshmen , as the leading rusher and scorer . He has shared starting responsibilities in his junior and senior seasons . He entered his senior season on the watch lists for the Doak Walker Award and the Maxwell Award . ESPN.com ranked him as the 22nd best player and third best running back in the Big Ten Conference before the season started . 
   Following two seasons spent on various inactive NFL rosters , he became a defendant in a drug possession case . He is scheduled to face his charges in court in January 2012 . 
   
   = = Youth career = = 
   
   Minor grew up as a Michigan Wolverines fan . His mother , Julie Gilliam , has pictures of him at age six wearing a Michigan uniform . At age nine , Minor wrote the university to inquire about becoming a Michigan football player . Every year he and his mother watched the Michigan - Ohio State game and rooted for Michigan . 
   
   = = = High school = = = 
   
   Minor inherited the Varina High School starting varsity team role as a sophomore in 2003 , and he gained 209 rushing yards in his first start . That season , he helped his team reach the Virginia Central Region , Division 6 championship ( the qualifying game for the Virginia High School League state semifinals ) . He concluded the regular season as an All @-@ District first @-@ team selection and after the playoffs was selected as a second @-@ team all @-@ region choice . During the season he rushed for 1 @,@ 750 yards and 22 touchdowns for the 10 – 2 ( 7 – 0 ) Varina Blue Devils . Minor also played varsity basketball as a sophomore . During the season , he once made seven three @-@ point field goals in a game . 
   As a junior , when Varina 's former Capital District offensive player of the year Army Spc . Clarence Adams III died serving the 91st Engineer Battalion , 1st Cavalry Division in Baghdad , Iraq , Minor gave up his number 3 to wear Adams ' # 33 as a tribute . In the District championship game , he rushed for 239 yards on 27 carries , including four touchdown runs . In the subsequent Central Region , Division 6 semifinals , he set a Central Region playoff record by rushing for 296 yards , but his undefeated top @-@ ranked team was upset . He concluded the season as both a first @-@ team all @-@ district and all @-@ Metro Region selection after compiling 2 @,@ 091 yards rushing and scoring 32 rushing touchdowns ( plus 2 receiving touchdowns ) . He was also selected to the Group AAA Virginia High School Football Coaches Association all @-@ state second @-@ team by the coaches . 
   Entering his senior season , he was ranked as the sixth best senior football player in Virginia by TechSideline.com. The Roanoke Times described him as " one of the top five recruits in the state " at the time of his August 2005 visit to see the first day of Virginia Tech Hokies football practice . At the time , he was considering Miami , Michigan , Florida , Virginia Tech , Tennessee , LSU and Ohio State . However , he started the season on crutches , due to a torn hip flexor . He returned to the lineup for the team 's final regular season game and rushed for 174 yards on 28 carries . Davon Morgan , his cousin , who now plays strong safety for Virginia Tech , was the team 's quarterback . Despite missing most of the season , he was still honored as an all @-@ district and all @-@ region selection . His three @-@ year career totals were 4 @,@ 259 yards and 64 touchdowns . As a graduating senior he was the number one ranked high school football fullback in the nation , according to rivals.com. Following his senior season , he scored the only touchdown in the East @-@ West Virginia High School Coaches Association All @-@ star game . 
   
   = = College career = = 
   
   
   = = = Lloyd Carr era = = = 
   
   In January 2006 , Minor selected the University of Michigan . Although he did not enroll in the 2006 Summer semester , he reported to Michigan on June 16 for strength and conditioning training . Minor and fellow freshman Carlos Brown were behind three returning running backs ( Mike Hart , Kevin Grady and senior Jerome Jackson ) on the depth chart entering the season . Minor was considered the less heralded than Brown , who was regarded as the fastest player on the team . On opening day , only Hart and Grady had more carries than Minor , in part because Jackson , who entered his senior season with 505 career rushing yards , did not dress . In his first carry as a Wolverine , he rushed for 24 yards against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the September 2 season opening game . Nonetheless , the depth chart was not very clear behind Hart . By late September , Minor was clearly third on the depth chart and it seemed that Brown might be redshirted . When Hart left the game due to injury against Michigan State on October 7 , Minor scored his first touchdown on a 40 @-@ yard run . He had his first 100 @-@ yard game on November 4 , when he rushed for 108 yards on 12 carries , including a 40 @-@ yard touchdown run in a 34 – 26 win against Ball State . As true freshman member of the 2006 Michigan Wolverines football team , Minor rushed for a total of 238 yards on 42 carries , which was second on the team to Hart . 
   During April 2007 , Grady tore his anterior cruciate ligament and was lost for the season . In August , Brown broke his hand . It appeared Minor was seriously injured on October 13 when he was carted off the field and left the stadium wearing a protective boot on crutches . However , he recovered and for the next two weeks he and Brown combined to replace the injured Hart . He had his second 100 @-@ yard game and first 150 @-@ yard game on October 27 of that season during the 34 – 10 Little Brown Jug game victory against the Minnesota Golden Gophers when he rushed for 157 yards on 21 carries , including a 46 @-@ yard run and one touchdown . Although Hart returned to play in the Paul Bunyan Trophy game against Michigan State on November 3 , he left the game early and Minor started the second half . Hart missed the next game on November 10 , but Brown and Minor had poor performances . In all three of Hart 's full game absences , Brown was the starter . As a sophomore on the 2007 Michigan Wolverines football team , Minor improved his rushing totals to 385 yards on 90 carries , which was again second on the team to Hart . 
   
   = = = Rich Rodriguez era = = = 
   
   In 2008 Rich Rodriguez replaced Lloyd Carr as head coach . In the spring , Brown broke his finger weightlifting and Grady was still trying to get healthy . In early August , it appeared that juniors Brown and Minor would vie for the starting job because fourth @-@ year junior Grady was under suspension related to driving while intoxicated charges . However , in camp it became apparent very quickly that true freshmen Sam McGuffie and Michael Shaw , would have a significant role in the newly installed spread option offense . With both Brown and Minor nursing injuries , McGuffie was tentatively penciled into the starting position on the depth chart . 
   As a junior member of the 2008 Michigan Wolverines football team , Minor became the team leader in rushing . However , he only started four games , while McGuffie started 6 , Brown started 1 and Shaw started 1 . McGuffie was the starter until he lost the job to Minor . Minor gave way to Shaw ( November 8 ) and Brown ( November 15 ) as the starter due to his injuries . Minor totalled 533 yards on 103 carries . He had nine rushing touchdowns and added two as a receiver . Of these eleven touchdowns , seven came in a three @-@ week span that included a 117 @-@ yard two @-@ touchdown rushing effort against Penn State on October 18 and a 155 @-@ yard three @-@ touchdown rushing effort against Purdue on November 1 . Sandwiched between these efforts , Minor scored on a 19 @-@ yard reception to compliment his 55 yards and a rushing touchdown in the Paul Bunyan Trophy game against Michigan State on October 25 . The Penn State game was Minor 's first career start . During Minor 's junior year , he played with a wrist injury that impaired his ability to hold the football with his right arm and his ability to stiffarm opponents . He was impaired by a variety of injuries throughout the season . At the conclusion of the 2008 Big Ten Conference football season , Minor was chosen as an honorable mention all @-@ conference selection by the coaches . 
   McGuffie transferred to the Rice Owls after the season . As a senior member of the 2009 Michigan Wolverines football team , Minor was named to a pair of watch lists : ( Doak Walker Award and Maxwell Award ) . He was also selected by ESPN as the 22nd best player and 3rd best running back ( behind Evan Royster and John Clay ) in the Big Ten Conference before the season started . Minor missed the first game of the season due to a high ankle sprain . In the second game , which was the 2009 Michigan – Notre Dame rivalry game , he rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries during the 38 – 34 victory over Notre Dame . The ankle sprain hampered him much of the season and caused him to miss the October 17 game against Delaware State . He had a season @-@ high 154 @-@ yard , 3 @-@ touchdown effort against Purdue on November 7 . A shoulder injury kept him out of the last game of the season against Ohio State . Over the course of his collegiate career , he accumulated 20 rushing touchdowns and 1 @,@ 658 yards . The torn rotator cuff also kept him from participating in the January 23 , 2010 East – West Shrine Game . 
   
   = = Professional career = = 
   
   
   = = = 2010 = = = 
   
   Minor signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chicago Bears on April 24 , 2010 , after going undrafted in the 2010 NFL Draft . He was released on September 1 . He then signed with the New Orleans Saints to their practice squad . However , Minor was back with the Bears before being released at the beginning of October and signed by the Indianapolis Colts . Minor was released by the Colts in October . In November , Minor tried out for the Green Bay Packers before ending the season as a member of the Denver Broncos ' practice squad . 
   
   = = = 2011 = = = 
   
   On September 4 , 2011 , the Broncos placed Minor on injured reserve . They waived him on October 10 . In November 2011 , he was " charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute " by the Virginia Commonwealth University police department following a traffic stop . He is scheduled for a traffic court appearance on January 18 . 
   
   