National Football Foundation

Captain of the 1968 Spartans, Allen Brenner averaged 51 minutes per game as a split end and safety for College Football Hall of Fame coach Duffy Daugherty. He worked hard in the classroom as well, compiling a 3.77 GPA as a pre-law major. Averaging nearly 17 yards per catch in his career, Brenner recorded two 100-yard games in 1968 and was the team’s leading receiver in 1967. In Michigan State’s 1966 national championship season, he led the team in punt return yards. Brenner’s 95-yard punt return for a touchdown against Illinois still stands as the longest punt return in program history.

A First Team All-American as a defensive back in 1968, Brenner earned First Team All-Big Ten honors as a defensive back and Second Team honors as an end. A two-time Academic All-America and three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, he received the Potsy Ross Award as the player who has made the best contribution to the team both athletically and scholastically. Brenner was also named team MVP. Following his senior season, he was selected to play in the Senior Bowl, the East-West Shrine Game, the Coaches All-America Game and the Hula Bowl.

Brenner was selected in the seventh round (170^th overall) of the 1969 NFL Draft by the New York Giants.  He played two seasons with the Giants primarily as a return specialist. Brenner played defensive back for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Ottawa Rough Riders in the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1971-1977.

He was a CFL All-Star in 1972, the same year he set a record of most interceptions in a season at 15, and also won the Grey Cup with the Tiger-Cats. He was also part of the Ottawa Rough Riders when they won the Grey Cup in 1976. While playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, he intercepted College Football Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Theismann four times in one game. In 1996, he was named to the Lansing State Journal’s MSU Centennial Super Squad. Brenner died Feb. 13, 2012, at age 64.