Michigan State Cornerback Shakur Brown Declares For NFL Draft

Redshirt junior cornerback Shakur Brown announced late Monday evening that he will be forgoing his remaining eligibility and entering the 2021 NFL Draft.

Brown is tied for the national lead this season with five interceptions so far. He also has 25 tackles and four pass breakups while having started in all seven games this year. The 5-foot-11 Brown played in 19 games with five starts prior to this season, including 29 tackles, two interceptions, and five pass breakups. He missed six games in 2019 due to injury, played in 12 games as a redshirt freshman in 2018 that included a pick six touchdown against Indiana, and earned Scout Team Defensive Player of the Week versus Iowa as a redshirt in 2017.

Brown will be the fifth defensive back recruited in the Mark Dantonio era to leave early. Josiah Scott, Justin Layne, Montae Nicholson, and Trae Waynes were the others and all of them were drafted. Brown is the first early NFL departure of the Mel Tucker era.

Brown started this year at nickelback against Rutgers and had a pick-six called back. Against Michigan, he was moved to cornerback and has remained in that position for the rest of the season, and has shined at that spot. It is unclear, but seemingly doubtful that Brown will play against Maryland on Saturday after delcaring for the draft, but we will soon find out.

Brown is a native of Stockbridge, Georgia. The now 190-pound cornerback was a three-star composite recruit out of high school in the 2017 class per 247Sports.