Penn State running back Journey Brown to 'potentially miss' 2020 season
Due to an unspecified medical issue, Nittany Lions' redshirt junior running back Journey Brown could potentially miss the 2020 football season, the Penn State football program confirmed Monday night.via statement.
"Journey Brown is being treated for a medical condition discovered during the off-season and will potentially miss the 2020 football season," the statement reads.
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After redshirting his freshman season, Brown saw limited action in 2018. His first breakout performance came against Pitt in week three of last season, totaling 109 yards on 10 carries. Freshman Noah Cain emerged to earn most the carries for the first four Big Ten games, but once he went down with an injury against Michigan State, Brown finished the conference season strong, totaling more than 100 yards rushing in three of the final four games.
In the game he didn't surpass 100 yards, against Ohio State, he averaged 5.8 yards per carry and scored a touchdown. His final performance during the 2019 season was the best of his career, as Brown totaled 202 yards rushing on just 16 carries (12.6 YPC) against Memphis in the Cotton Bowl. For the season, Brown had 12 touchdowns and totaled 890 yards on 129 carries, averaging an impressive 6.9 yards per carry. He also caught 15 passes for 134 yards (8.9 YPC) and 1 touchdown.
Coming out of Meadville, Pa., Brown was originally a two-star recruit before earning the bump to three stars before signing day. He earned four Football Bowl Subdivision scholarship offers - Baylor, Syracuse and Temple were the other three schools - and was close to committing to Temple before Penn State offered with just weeks remaining before National Signing Day.
During his junior season in high school, he earned national recognition when he totaled 722 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns in a single game. That remains a state record in Pennsylvania. For his high school career, he had 7,027 yards rushing and scored an eye-catching 106 rushing touchdowns.
Brown also won the PIAA Class AAA 100-meter finals in both his junior and senior seasons. He set the state record with a 10.43-second run in 2017.
Due to the NCAA's accommodation granting a free year of eligibility to all participants in the 2020 season, Brown would have two years of eligibility remaining following the 2020 season, were he to choose to return.
Lions247 first reported the news.
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