‘Old head’ Journey Brown fitting comfortably into leadership role for Penn State football
Journey Brown is in unfamiliar territory.
When the redshirt junior running back first arrived at Penn State in 2017, Saquon Barkley was putting the finishing touches on one of the most exciting careers ever by a Nittany Lion running back. Then, in 2018, it was Miles Sanders who led the Penn State running backs room with an All-Big Ten season. Even last year, Brown wasn’t the featured back right away in a crowded rotation.
Now, Brown is the oldest member of a position group that is made up of himself, two sophomores and two freshmen. And after bursting onto the scene at the end of 2019 by rushing for 593 yards total in the Nittany Lions’ final five games, he knows his younger teammates will look to follow his lead this fall.
“I’m an old head and these young guys kind of look up to me,” Brown said last week on a Zoom call with reporters during Penn State’s virtual media days. “I got them calling me, texting me, asking me questions and stuff. And for me to be able to answer those questions, I got to know it myself and prepare for it myself.”
Brown — a former three-star recruit — went from a 44-yard season in 2018 to rushing for 890 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. He capped off the year with a 202-yard performance in the Cotton Bowl against Memphis, breaking the Penn State record for most rushing yards in a bowl game.
The 5-foot-11, 215-pound Meadville product’s story of going from an under-the-radar recruit to a name to know in college football serves as motivation for the Nittany Lions’ younger backs.
“It’s definitely inspiring to see that the same guy in my room is bringing so much national attention to the Penn State program, just to our running backs room alone,” sophomore running back Noah Cain said. “A dude like Journey, man, he’s come a long way from where he was at his freshman year to now.”
Cain said Brown has been like an older brother to him, and to sophomore Devyn Ford and freshmen Caziah Holmes and Keyvone Lee.
New offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca said it’s Brown’s “infectious personality” that allows others to be drawn to him. Brown loves to joke around with his teammates to keep the mood light at practices and games. He’s there to lift their spirits when they’re down, too.
“He’s always right there to pick somebody up when they make a mistake to keep their head in it and to just keep grinding along,” Ciarrocca said. “He’s got a lot of great leadership qualities that you really want on your team.”
The strides that Brown has made since he began his collegiate career are evident. But he aspires to reach even greater heights on the field this fall.
“I ain’t never satisfied with what I’ve done,” he said. “Because, personally, I feel like I haven’t done nothing. What I did last year was just a preview of what I’m capable of. Just staying hungry and being humble is probably the best combination you could have.”
And he’s determined to bring everyone else with him, too.
“He’s taken everybody under his wing and just been nothing but a great teammate,” Cain said. “He’s just been helping everybody take big strides to becoming the best player they can be.”
This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 4:44 PM.
