This story is about Published Feb. 27

10 things to know about Noah Brown, including a crazy athletic family and an insane catch in college Share This Story On... Twitter

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Tom Fox/Staff Photographer Dallas Cowboys rookie receiver Noah Brown (85) of Ohio State catches a pass during organized team activities at The Star in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News)

By SportsDayDFW.com Contact SportsDayDFW.com on Twitter: @SportsDayDFW

The Cowboys drafted Noah Brown with the 239th overall pick in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Here are 10 things you might not know about the new Cowboys receiver:

1. No stranger to injury In high school, broken ribs sidelined Brown for a season. In college, the injury bug struck again: He broke his left tibula and fibula in fall camp, missing all of 2015 with the Buckeyes. The result: Brown entered the NFL draft as a redshirt sophomore, with just 14 total games of college experience. Why'd he enter so early? "I saw how quickly football can be taken away," Brown told reporters after he was drafted. "With this year, although my stats didn't have the volume that some people would like to see, I made big-time plays in big-time situations. That's something I think I can bring to an NFL team right away." ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper put Brown as the 168th pick on his board. The Cowboys got him at 239. 2. But his dad had his back

Simple text from my Dad last yr when i was rehabing coming off a broken leg... i took it and ran w it and its more relevant now than ever.. Thankful for my blessings and support system that keeps me focused🙏🏾 A post shared by Noah Brown (@nb_eight0) on Mar 14, 2017 at 9:32am PDT

His dad never lost hope that he'd make the NFL, though. Brown posted a picture of money stacks on Instagram. His dad had text it to him as encouragement during the 2015 redshirt year. "This is you one day....stay focused," his dad had told him. "Every time you don't do what you're supposed to do they taking out of one of ur buckets." Brown said he kept using that image as motivation. "Simple text from my Dad last yr when I was rehabing (sic) coming off a broken leg ... I took it and ran w it and its more relevant now than ever," he wrote. "Thankful for my blessings and support system that keeps me focused." 3. An INSANE catch

/Sue Ogrocki/AP Ohio State wide receiver Noah Brown, rear, grabs a pass for a touchdown as Oklahoma's Michiah Quick (16) defends during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Brown's game vs. Oklahoma might be the reason he was drafted. He scored four of his seven season touchdowns against the Sooners, one by pinning the ball against Oklahoma CB Michiach Quick. He only had five receptions and 72 yards in the game, but he made them count.

New Cowboys WR Noah Brown with one of the best catches you'll ever see pic.twitter.com/bXgAZWu3bj — Jon Machota (@jonmachota) April 29, 2017

"I feel like that's one of my strong points, going up and getting the ball, and just battling," Brown said. "I'm somebody who is going to battle all game." 4. Reunion with Zeke Brown played in two games for the Buckeyes in 2014, including the 42-20 national championship ... at Jerry World ... where MVP Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 246 yards and four touchdowns. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Elliott advocated for Dallas to draft Brown. "I don't mind telling you that the No. 1 agent for Brown was Zeke Elliott," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said after the draft. "Of course, he really had a lot of neat things about Brown and he was of course there [Ohio State] with Brown two years ago. He has a high value on what Brown can potentially bring to the table."

@Nb_Eight0 time to go to work. — Ezekiel Elliott (@EzekielElliott) April 29, 2017

Brown spoke highly of Zeke. "From the beginning of this process, [Elliott] told me he was going to push with the front office guys to try and get a look at me and try to get me down to Dallas there with him," Brown said. "I'm definitely excited to be his teammate again. He's such a great player. Looking forward to helping him make plays and helping the Cowboys make plays." 5. Buckeye star QB's scouting report

Zeke isn't the only Buckeye to speak Brown's praises. Star Buckeye quarterback J.T. Barrett, who's started 29 games for Ohio State the last three years, didn't shy away from hyping up Brown's hands. "Noah has like suction cups on his hands," Barrett told the Akron Beacon Journal last August, weeks before the two connected for four home runs against Oklahoma. "You can throw it anywhere around him. Throw it around Noah and he will be able to get it." 6. Dez-like qualities Ex-NFL scout and current DallasCowboys.com writer Bryan Broaddus said in May 2017 that he thought Brown reminded him of Dez Bryant. "Noah Brown is not only the type of player, a big-bodied receiver, he really reminds me of Dez Bryant as a route runner with the inside routes, the slants, going to get the football, high catch radius. "... To me, this is a guy that's a nasty blocker, too. When you got a guy with size on the outside that can block when you put him in the game the things [like] trying to get the edge, the crack tosses, the balls going to the outside with Zeke [Ezekiel Elliott]. Those are some really, really positive things." 7. He doesn't just catch -- he blocks, too As Broaddus mentioned above, Brown can block. NFL.com's draft profile described Brown as a "committed blocker who looks to cave-in his crack blocks. Able to sustain his block and spring a run for additional yardage." Brown reiterated that point after the Cowboys drafted him. "I'm going to try to smash the safety on the crack block," he said. "I'm going to try to put the cornerback on the bench on a play when I'm not getting the ball." Here are some blocking highlights from his Ohio State days:

Noah Brown is such a fun blocker: pic.twitter.com/WGMMew1PLh — Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) May 3, 2017

8. Weight-loss pro

/ Associated Press photos by Gerald Herbert, Michael Conroy

Maybe scratch the diet fats if you're looking to drop weight. Ask Brown what he did after Ohio State's title, because he dropped from 244 to 222 during spring 2015. Before the fall breaks sidelined him that season, his teammates took notice. "Coach always talks about Noah Brown," linebacker Josh Perry said in a Cleveland Plain-Dealer column from April 2015. "The way he transformed his body is amazing. His routes are extremely crisp." Receivers coach Zach Smith agreed: "He's at a different level than he was in the fall." (The chubby cheeks have gone too...)

#tbt lmao A post shared by Noah Brown (@nb_eight0) on Mar 21, 2013 at 4:13am PDT

9. No need to stay home Brown grew up in New Jersey, playing high school ball for Pope John XXII Regional High School. But when Rutgers offered the receiver who lived just 30 miles away, he didn't bite. Brown committed to Ohio State over his home-state school, Michigan State, South Carolina, USC, Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech. He finished high school with 1,363 total offensive yards and 21 touchdowns as a senior. 10. He's not just a football player Brown was a four-star recruit out of high school but ranked the No. 9 "athlete" by Rivals and No. 13 by 247Sports. He also received basketball scholarship offers, from Delaware and D-I Rider in New Jersey. Bonus: A deeply embedded sports background

Happy Father's day pops!! Never had to say much but showed me what it means to work hard and be there for ya family ✊ A post shared by Noah Brown (@nb_eight0) on Jun 21, 2015 at 10:22am PDT

From watching SportsCenter in place of cartoons, to asking for sports equipment instead of toys, Brown was all sports all the time growing up per The Columbus Dispatch's Bill Rabinowitz. His dad played basketball for Seton Hall in the 1990s, averaging 8.5 points per game through his career while shooting 37 percent from behind the arc. Brown's older brother Kenny played football at Gardner-Webb, a D-I school in North Carolina. Noah Brown had skills in both, getting basketball offers from D-I Rider and Delaware but ultimately pursuing football. "He was always very focused, very serious," his mother Allison told Rabinowitz. "When he wants to do something, he'll do it. He was always practicing even when he wasn't practicing." With the Cowboys, Brown hopes to continue that focus. "I feel like I bring a nasty edge to the team," he said. Bonus: Throwbacks Just pretend it doesn't say Giants...

#TBT A post shared by Noah Brown (@nb_eight0) on Sep 24, 2015 at 7:55am PDT

Did I do thaaaaat?

#TbT halloween 7th grade year lmfao #SteveUrkel A post shared by Noah Brown (@nb_eight0) on Oct 31, 2013 at 2:46pm PDT

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