Late-Season Flourish Primes Brown for More Success in 2020
In Ja’Juan Seider’s view, Journey Brown’s 2017 and 2018 seasons weren’t truly redshirt or freshman years.
Held out of action upon arriving at Penn State in 2017, the running back appeared sparingly the next year, appearing in nine games mostly on special teams while carrying the ball just eight times for 44 yards and a touchdown.
Earning an opportunity to truly play last year, then, Brown took the ball and ran with it, literally.
“Journey hadn't played in two years, and now we’re starting to see when certain kids redshirt and what development over time can do for kids,” Seider told reporters Tuesday. “When you got the intangibles and you’re willing to work and be patient, he’s a prime example of that. Now, he's playing as a football player.”
That wasn’t always the case for Brown.
At this point, an oft-repeated story, Brown’s transition from a record-holding 100-meter champion into a talented running back was one that demanded time. Already fast, Brown’s confidence and approach to the game needed to catch up to his considerable measurables.
In time, they have.
Describing Brown losing out on the starting job to Ricky Slade last season as a “one-day” difference, Brown’s matured work ethic and persistence created an environment in which Brown was able to blossom. Ascending into an eventual starting role at the start of Penn State’s November schedule, with Slade having fallen behind and Noah Cain sidelined due to injury, Brown rode a wave of success through the final five games.
And, according to Seider, it started with Brown’s performance in the 31-26 loss at Minnesota, carrying the ball 14 times for 124 yards and a touchdown.
“He played his tail off,” Seider said. “And then what he did at Ohio State in the second half was probably as impressive as anybody in the country. I will say this: The last four or five games, and I know I'm biased, but I thought Journey Brown was playing as good as any running back in the country. He got freakish athletic ability and strength that, he's finally starting to tap into it.”
The numbers back up the assessment.
Following the Minnesota performance with another triple-digit rushing afternoon against Indiana, running for 100 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, Brown went back out and helped the Nittany Lions threaten the Buckeyes in Columbus after a listless first half. Finishing the game with 64 yards and a touchdown on the ground on 11 carries, Brown and the Nittany Lions responded to the loss with 103 yards and three scores on 16 carries against Rutgers to close out the regular season.
His achievements wouldn’t end there.
On a record day for Penn State’s ground game, Brown was the offensive MVP with 202 yards on 16 carries in Penn State’s 53-39 win in the Cotton Bowl, including touchdown runs of 32 and 56 yards.
“I think the thing that I was so impressed in the bowl game is trying to finally get him to play as fast as he is. I thought he finally started to trust his track speed to football now,” Seider said. “The way he separated on that one run, what 50, 60-yard run, I mean, that's what I've been trying to bring out of him the last couple of years. And I think now he sees it. I think he carried that over into winter conditioning.”
Emboldened by Brown’s finish to the season, Seider’s expectations for the season ahead - whenever it takes place in whatever form it eventually takes shape - are only heightened.
“The kid kept working and he kept trying to figure it out and then… the light bulb went off. And now, he's doing stuff that it's amazing to see,” Seider said. “I thought the last five games, I would say he was playing as good as Miles played the year before. It's not a knock on Miles, but the way he was making safeties miss and erasing the defense, that's impressive. You don't wake up with that gift every day. And I think he's tapping into it. I don't think he's satisfied. I think he's hungry because now he got a taste of it and he realized how good he can be going forward.”
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