Penn State RB Journey Brown retires from playing football due to medical condition
Penn State running back Journey Brown’s football career has come to an end.
Brown can no longer play football due to a medical condition found during routine COVID-19 testing, according to Penn State head coach James Franklin. The condition, according to Franklin, is not related to the virus.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Franklin said during his Wednesday evening media availability. “And when it happened you’re in shock. You feel physically sick about it, and you’re just in shock. ... He’s going to be very successful, and I don’t know if he wants to stay in football or whatever he decides to do, but he’s going to be unbelievably successful.”
The junior running back released a statement on Wednesday about the end of his career via his personal Twitter account, saying the test found hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. According to MayoClinic.com, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a disease in which the heart muscle becomes abnormally thick and makes it harder to pump blood.
“You never know when you will play your last snap,” the statement read, “but I know I left it all out there and have no regrets, other than wishing I could step on the field one final time.”
Brown was projected to lead the Penn State backfield this season after breaking out to close out the 2019 season. The junior ended his career with 16 carries for 202 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s 53-39 Cotton Bowl win over Memphis in December. He finished with 890 yards and 12 touchdowns on only 129 carries and started to receive plenty of draft hype in the offseason.
Dane Brugler, of The Athletic, ranked him as his No. 1 running back in the 2021 draft class heading into this season.
Brown’s absence — along with Noah Cain’s season-ending injury suffered against Indiana — has left Penn State with just three scholarship running backs, including sophomore Devyn Ford and freshmen Caziah Holmes and Keyvone Lee. The Nittany Lions have struggled to run the ball this season without the team’s two leading rushers at running back from last season.
The redshirt junior has taken on a role as an assistant coach with the Nittany Lions and has continued to travel with the team despite the condition.
This story was originally published November 11, 2020 at 7:09 PM.
