Former running back arrested on trafficking charges

Former Temple running back Matt Brown was one of two men arrested on numerous human trafficking and prostitution charges Thursday.

According to a report from Baltimore’s WBAL-TV 11, Brown and 30-year-old Anthony Leon Eley Jr., Brown and Eley Jr. brought three girls – ages 14, 16 and 17 – to a Baltimore hotel room. Police said one of the girls asked for money.

Vice detectives had responded to an advertisement known to be used by prostitutes and arranged a meeting at the hotel, leading to the arrests. According to the report, both men told police they knew the girls were underage and taking part in prostitution.

Brown, a 25-year-old Baltimore resident, was a special-teams standout for the football team from 2009-2012, and is the school’s fourth-best all-time leading rusher. He signed for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers in May 2013, but was released prior to the start of the season. He also had a brief stint with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League from 2013-14, but failed to appear in a game before his release in June 2014.

Brown was released on bail Thursday night and will await a May 19 trial in Baltimore. His father, Warren Brown, is a Baltimore attorney.

Brown marks the second former Temple running back arrested in three days, and the fourth Temple-affiliated player arrested this week.

The school’s second-highest all-time leading rusher, former running back Bernard Pierce, was arrested on DUI charges early Wednesday morning. He was released by the Baltimore Ravens later that day, the team with which he had spent the entirety of his three-year NFL career.

Pierce rushed for 532 yards and averaged 4.9 yards per carry as a rookie in 2012, but his numbers progressively dipped through his next two seasons as Baltimore’s backup running back.

On Monday night, current Temple players Dion Dawkins and Haason Reddick were arrested on aggravated assault and related charges stemming from an incident at an off-campus party in Philadelphia’s Northern Liberties section in January. Both players were released on bail Monday night and will appear in court for a preliminary hearing March 31.

They have been suspended from the team, but still remain on the roster.

Walker joins notable names on Maxwell Award watch list

P.J. Walker’s name graced the Maxwell Award watch list released Monday, joining 32 other quarterbacks of the initial group of 75 players to survive the initial cut.

Walker impressed as the starter in Temple’s final seven games as a true freshman last season, completing 60.8 percent of his passes with 20 touchdown strikes and eight interceptions. A 59-49 shootout defeat to Southern Methodist featured what was arguably Walker’s best performance of the season when the Elizabeth, N.J. native hit 26 of his 37 passing attempts with four touchdown passes and zero interceptions.

The rising sophomore marks the first Temple player on the Maxwell watch list since former running back Bernard Pierce made the extended list in October of 2011.

Walker joins a recognizable field of quarterbacks on the list, including UCLA’s Brett Hundley, defending national champion Jameis Winston of Florida State, Ohio State’s Braxton Miller and Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg.

The list will be trimmed to semifinalists on Nov. 3 with a final crop of candidates determined Nov. 24.