Victory Bell Rings
Fansided

A look at Penn State Football’s success with in-state RBs

By Alec Whitaker

STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 01: Saquon Barkley #26 of the Penn State Nittany Lions rushes past Gaelin Elmore #87 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers for the game winning touchdown in the first overtime period at Beaver Stadium on October 1, 2016 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 01: Saquon Barkley #26 of the Penn State Nittany Lions rushes past Gaelin Elmore #87 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers for the game winning touchdown in the first overtime period at Beaver Stadium on October 1, 2016 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – DECEMBER 28: Journey Brown #4 of the Penn State Nittany Lions runs the ball during the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium on December 28, 2019 in Arlington, Texas (Photo by Benjamin Solomon/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – DECEMBER 28: Journey Brown #4 of the Penn State Nittany Lions runs the ball during the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium on December 28, 2019 in Arlington, Texas (Photo by Benjamin Solomon/Getty Images) /

Journey Brown (2017-2020)

Journey Brown from Meadville, PA was the running back in Penn State’s 2017 recruiting class.

The Nittany Lions struggled to find a running back that cycle but offered Brown on Jan. 12, 2017. He committed that day and signed three weeks later.

Brown was rated as a 3-star and the No. 918 player in the country, but he made those rankings look silly.

Brown redshirted in 2017, which was the right thing to do with Barkley, Sanders and Robinson all still on the roster.

He saw limited action in 2018, rushing the ball eight times for 44 yards and a touchdown.

Brown was part of a running back carousel in 2019 as the Nittany Lions struggled to find their go-to running back. Brown emerged as a star at the end of the season though and finished the year with 890 yards and 12 touchdowns on just 129 carries, good for 6.9 yards per rush.

Brown was a stud in the Cotton Bowl that year, rushing for 202 yards and two touchdowns.

Brown was expected to be the No. 1 back for the Nittany Lions in 2020, as the team looked to build off a 11-2 campaign in 2019.

Unfortunately, that would not happen. The 2020 season was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and then it was discovered that Brown had a medical condition that forced him to retire.

This was a terrible end to a great story.

Brown stayed positive though and worked as an assistant coach for the running backs in 2020 and 2021.

Home/Penn State Nittany Lions