Ohio State AD Gene Smith Reacts To NFL Legend Jim Brown's Death

Former Cleveland Browns legend Jim Brown was one of the NFL's greatest running backs in NFL history.

Former Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown passed away at the age of 87, his wife Monique announced on Instagram Friday.

Ohio State Buckeyes athletic director Gene Smith took to Twitter Friday to offer his thoughts and condolences in response to Brown's death.

"RIP Jim Brown-an inspiration to all," Smith said in a tweet. "Thank you JB for all you gave us." 

Monique Brown said Jim Brown "passed peacefully" in their Los Angeles home Thursday night.

"To the world he was an activist, actor, and football star," Monique Brown said in a statement. "To our family, he was a loving and wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. Our hearts are broken..."

Jim Brown went to Syracuse from 1954-56 where he played football, lacrosse, basketball and ran track and field.

In 1956, he finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting after rushing for 986 yards and 13 touchdowns in addition to catching five passes for 56 yards and one score. He capped off his career with the Orange with 2,091 rushing yards and 19 rushing touchdowns, including a program-record six against Colgate.

In that same game against Colgate, Jim Brown set the NCAA single-game scoring record with 43 points, serving as Syracuse's placekicker for the Orange's seven extra points.

Jim Brown was drafted sixth overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 1957 draft, going on to rush for 12,312 yards and 106 touchdowns in nine seasons.

He led the league in rushing in all but one season, made the Pro Bowl in nine years, was a First Team AP All-Pro selection eight times, winning three MVPs, and the Rookie of the Year award in 1957.

After retiring at the age of 30, Jim Brown went on to have an acting career, starring in "The Dirty Dozen" and appearing in 58 other films, according to his IMDb page. He directed the 1999 TV movie "Keeping the Music Alive."

Jim Brown also worked at helping the Black community during the Civil Rights Movement, in addition to starting the Amer-I-Can Foundation for Social Change in 1988 to help "at-risk and high-risk youth in underserved schools and juvenile detention facilities" to "improve the quality of their lives by equipping them with what they need to confidently and successfully contribute to society," according to its website.

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