The 10 biggest ‘what ifs’ for Penn State Football recruiting

5. What if Penn State Never Took a Chance on Journey Brown in 2017?

Heading into the 2017 season, Penn State had arguably the most talented running back group in the country with Saquon Barkley and Miles Sanders.

Because of this, landing a top-rated running back recruit in the 2017 class became a difficult task, with 5-star Philadelphia product D’Andre Swift heading to Georgia and others going elsewhere. Penn State could have opted to just not take a running back in the 2017 cycle, but three weeks before National Signing Day, they extended an offer to Journey Brown.

Brown was rated the No. 51 running back in the country at the time and the Meadville, Pa product did not have many offers despite an unreal high school career. Considering his ranking, many expected Brown to get buried on Penn State’s depth chart, but the staff saw something that not many others outside of Meadville did.

After a redshirt year in 2017, Brown saw limited action behind Sanders and Ricky Slade in 2018. The following year would be Brown’s coming out party though, as with Sanders gone, Slade struggling and Noah Cain injured, the Nittany Lions needed someone to step up as they headed to Minnesota for a clash of 8-0 teams.

Although Penn State lost to Minnesota and had their playoff hopes crushed a couple weeks later by Ohio State, Brown finished the season on a high note.

Overall, he ran for 890 yards and 12 touchdowns on just 129 carries. His season was capped off by a 202-yard, two-touchdown performance against Memphis in the Cotton Bowl.

Unfortunately, before the 2020 season it was discovered that Brown had a serious medical condition and was forced to retire from football. Penn State fans were robbed of what would have surely been an All-American type of season from Brown, and he was robbed of a promising future in the NFL. It was a sad ending to a great story.

Despite this hurdle, Brown stuck around at Penn State and worked with the young running backs who were tasked with trying to fill his shoes. He sort of became a second running backs for the team and a great mentor for those younger guys.

Had Penn State not taken a chance on Brown, they likely don’t win the Cotton Bowl and wouldn’t have a positive and calming presence in the locker room.