 Browne with theUSC Trojans in 2013 | |
| Profile | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1995-02-02)February 2, 1995 (age 31) Sammamish, Washington, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 230 lb (104 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Skyline(Sammamish, Washington) |
| College | USC (2013–2016) Pittsburgh (2017) |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
Max Austin Browne (born February 2, 1995) is an Americanfootball analyst and formerquarterback. He playedcollege football for theUSC Trojans (2013–2016) andPittsburgh Panthers (2017).
Browne committed to USC on April 4, 2012, during his junior year,[1][2] and was considered the best quarterback recruit of his class byRivals.com andScout.com.[3][4] He transferred to Pitt on December 15, 2016, as a graduate transfer.[5]
Born and raised inSammamish, Washington, a suburb east ofSeattle, Browne attendedBeaver Lake Middle School andSkyline High School in Sammamish. During hishigh school career, he completed 73.5 percent of his passes for 12,951 yards and 146touchdowns.[6][7] He was theGatorade Player of the Year for Washington in 2011 and 2012,[8][9] and led the Spartans to three straightClass 4A state finals, winning the final two.
Following his senior season, Browne participated in the 2013U.S. Army All-American Bowl and was awarded the prestigiousHall Trophy as U.S. Army Player of the Year.
| Season | G | Passing | Rushing | Season | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | TD | Win | Loss | ||
| 2009 | 9 | 23 | 35 | 65.7 | 205 | 2 | 0 | – | 13 | 43 | 0 | — | — |
| 2010 | 14 | 294 | 432 | 68.1 | 4,182 | 50 | 13 | – | 32 | −48 | 2 | 12 | 2 |
| 2011 | 14 | 288 | 409 | 70.4 | 4,034 | 45 | 7 | – | 42 | 221 | 2 | 11 | 3 |
| 2012 | 14 | 277 | 377 | 73.5 | 4,526 | 49 | 5 | – | 67 | 15 | 6 | 14 | 0 |
| Career | 51 | 882 | 1,253 | 70.4 | 12,947 | 146 | 25 | – | 154 | 231 | 10 | 37 | 5 |
On April 4, 2012, Browne committed to play football at theUniversity of Southern California. He selected USC as his college destination overOklahoma,Washington, andAlabama.[10] In 2013, Browne was redshirted as a true freshman, after failing to beat outCody Kessler andMax Wittek for the starting quarterback job. Head coachLane Kiffin eventually named Kessler the starting quarterback in the fall.
In 2014, afterSteve Sarkisian took over as head coach, Browne again lost the starting quarterback battle to Kessler, who was named the starting quarterback during spring practice.[11][12][13]
In 2015, Browne was once again the backup to Kessler. With Kessler's departure to the NFL Draft after the2015 season, Browne was the presumptive starter going into spring practice in 2016. Instead, he faced a stiff challenge from redshirt freshmanSam Darnold. On August 20, 2016, Browne was officially named the starting quarterback by head coachClay Helton.[12][14][11]
Browne started his first game as a Trojan quarterback in a 52–6 loss to Alabama on September 3. On September 19, Browne was replaced by Sam Darnold as starting quarterback, a move that prompted speculation that the redshirt junior would transfer at the end of the season to take advantage of his status as a graduate student to start immediately with a new team.[15]
Browne eventually transferred to the University of Pittsburgh. At Pitt, Browne had a successful spring, being voted Captain and earning the starting quarterback job. However, after starting the first three games of the season and going 1–2 (beating Youngstown State but losing to both Penn State and Oklahoma State), Browne was replaced by redshirt sophomoreBen DiNucci. DiNucci went 12–19 with 1 touchdown in the Panthers next game, but the Panthers lost their third game of the season to Georgia Tech, 35–17.[16] Browne was then given another shot to spark this offense for their game versus Rice and he did just that. Throwing for 410 yards, 28–32 (88% completion/attempts), and four touchdowns, the Panthers won 42–10.
On October 7, 2017, Browne suffered a shoulder injury on a sack during the game againstSyracuse. It was later revealed that the injury required surgery and Browne would miss the rest of the season.[17]
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |
| USC Trojans | |||||||||||||||
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | — |  Redshirt | |||||||||||
| 2014 | 6 | 0 | — | 3 | 7 | 42.9 | 30 | 4.3 | 0 | 0 | 78.9 | 4 | 13 | 3.3 | 0 |
| 2015 | 3 | 0 | — | 8 | 12 | 66.7 | 113 | 9.4 | 0 | 0 | 145.8 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2016 | 8 | 3 | 1–2 | 58 | 93 | 62.4 | 507 | 5.5 | 2 | 2 | 111.0 | 9 | −23 | −2.6 | 0 |
| Pittsburgh Panthers | |||||||||||||||
| 2017 | 6 | 5 | 2–3 | 96 | 135 | 71.1 | 997 | 7.4 | 5 | 2 | 142.4 | 19 | −74 | −3.9 | 0 |
| Career | 26 | 8 | 3–5 | 165 | 247 | 66.8 | 1,647 | 6.7 | 7 | 4 | 128.9 | 32 | –84 | –2.6 | 0 |
Browne was not signed by aNational Football League team after his college career ended. In December 2018, he attended a tryout with thePittsburgh Steelers but was not offered a contract.[18]
During the2018 college football season, he began analyzingPac-12 Conference teams onYouTube with hopes of becoming a television color commentator.[19]
In 2019, he became a pre- and post-game analyst for USC onKABC (AM), while also working as a contributor for TrojanSports.com.[20][21] Browne later began calling games forCW Sports before joiningESPN in 2025.[22]
Browne married former USC volleyball player and mental health & body image advocate Victoria Garrick on August 13, 2022.[23]
