Brian Westbrook

Brian Collins Westbrook (born September 2, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2002 NFL draft after playing college football for the Villanova Wildcats. Following an eight-year career with the Eagles, in which he earned two Pro Bowl selections in 2004 and 2007, Westbrook signed with the San Francisco 49ers, for whom he played in 2010.

Westbrook served as the director of player engagement for the XFL until its merger with the United States Football League (USFL), to form the United Football League (UFL) in 2024.

Westbrook attended DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland and was an excellent student and a letterman in football and basketball. In football, as a senior, he was a first-team All-League selection, a first-team All-Prince George's County selection, and an All-State Honorable Mention selection. As a junior, he was a first-team All-Washington Catholic Athletic Conference selection and an All-State Honorable Mention selection.

Westbrook played for the Villanova Wildcats football team while attending Villanova University from 1997 to 2001. Though he battled through several injuries, he holds the all-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) record with 9,512 all-purpose yards, breaking the 9,301 yards accumulated by Brian Shay of the Emporia State Hornets. In 46 career games, he scored 542 points with 84 touchdowns, carried the ball 725 times for 4,298 yards (6.2 average), caught 219 passes for 2,582 yards (11.79 average) and gained 2,289 yards and four touchdowns on kickoff returns. Along the way, he established 41 school, 13 Atlantic 10 Conference, and five NCAA records.

Westbrook became the only player in I-AA history to score 160 or more points in two different seasons and the first player in the history of college football at any level with 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards in one season (1998). He is one of only three players in Villanova history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season and he accomplished that feat three times.

Westbrook was a consensus I-AA All-America and two-time Atlantic 10 offensive player of the year and was the 2001 recipient of the Walter Payton Award (as the top player in NCAA Division I-AA). As a senior, he amassed 2,823 combined net yards and scored 29 touchdowns.

Westbrook was inducted to the Villanova University Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 2016.

Westbrook was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2023. He was also inducted into the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame on June 25 of that same year.