Best safety combo in the country? How Brisker and Brown have helped lead Penn State football’s defense
James Franklin didn’t show much hesitation when he spoke about his starting safeties, following the Nittany Lions’ 31-14 win over Maryland on Saturday. Franklin fielded a question about one of them, senior Ji’Ayir Brown — who goes by Tiig — and took it as an opportunity to make a declaration about Brown and fellow starting safety Jaquan Brisker.
“I think Tiig and Brisker, I don’t know if there’s a better combination of safeties in the country,” he said.
Franklin’s assertion isn’t far off base, if it is at all.
Brisker and Brown have fortified the back end of Penn State’s defense and have played an important role in making it one of the best defenses in the country this season.
The safety duo’s familiarity runs deeper than their time together at Penn State. Both spent time at Lackawanna College, a junior college, before choosing to become Nittany Lions. There they both learned under head coach Mark Duda, who Brown says still keeps in touch.
“I talked to Coach Duda about two weeks ago,” Brown said. “(He was) just telling me to keep up the great work. ... He’s a very passionate person. He loves to reach out to former guys and give them his advice on what they’re doing and his input on what he sees. He’s a great person, man.”
While their time at Lackawanna helped shape them, it’s at Penn State where both Brisker and Brown have taken their next steps, and they’ve done it together.
The starting safeties have helped slam the door on two opponents this season and have done it in style. Brisker first intercepted Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz near the goal line in the second-to-last defensive drive in the season opener.
Brown followed up with a pick of his own to close out the win. Nine weeks later he did it again, this time jumping a pass by Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa and taking it to the house to seal the 31-14 win.
The duo has ascended because of how they both contribute in all facets of the game and have done that under Penn State safeties coach Anthony Poindexter. Poindexter, in his first year with the program, has elevated the two and has done it with the help of his own experience.
He’s a former two-time consensus first team All-American and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2020. His experience has played a factor in getting the two starting safeties where they are now.
“I think Coach Poindexter, being a guy that played the position at a very high level both in college and the NFL, and now is coaching the position ... I do think there’s some value there,” Franklin said.
Brisker and Brown can be found flying all over the field for the Penn State defense. Both adept in the run game, where they come up and make big stops from the back of the defense, but also excelling in the passing game, where they use their intelligence and instincts to break and passes and haul in interceptions on plays they know are coming.
Of course, the familiarity helps.
Brisker is the defense’s fearless leader and Brown says it’s easy to pick his voice out in a crowd, even if that crowd includes 107,000 screaming fans.
“It’s hard to explain. I can hear Jaquan on the field,” Brown said. “As far as our communication, he has a very distinct voice that stands out on the field. So I can actually hear almost everything he says on the field. ... His voice is very distinct to me.”
The communication and trust extends to the other members of the secondary, as well. Redshirt sophomore cornerback Joey Porter Jr. knows the safeties behind him have his back, allowing him to play more freely when he’s taking on a wide receiver.
That trust is a two-way street, though, with Brown and Brisker being able to trust that Porter will take care of business on the outside.
“I feel like we’ve got a good relationship in the back end,” Porter said. “They trust me to leave me on an island sometimes and knock everything down. And I trust them to be over the top and make those plays if I ever get caught lacking. We have a unique understanding. I feel like that’s what makes us really go as a secondary. We all trust each other that we can make those plays.”
The talent and trust in the secondary has been vital for a defense that has dealt with plenty of injuries in its front four. The team’s pass rush hasn’t been able to get as home as much as it would have if it had players like PJ Mustipher and Adisa Isaac available, putting pressure on the secondary to play at its best.
Brisker and Brown have fortified that part of Penn State’s defense and allowed it to succeed despite its faults.
In turn, it’s helped make the secondary one of the best in the country, although Brown and his teammates don’t have time for such assertions.
“We don’t speak too much about (where the defense stands nationally),” Brown said. “I don’t think we’ve ever brought that up. We’re just worried about executing every week, going in games and being the best versions of ourselves that we can be. If fans, if they want to say that, and anybody else who wants to say that, they can say that. We don’t focus on that.”
