Running back Journey Brown will 'no longer be able to play football'
Penn State received a major setback Wednesday when head coach James Franklin announced that Nittany Lion running back Journey Brown has been shut down medically from playing football ever again, revealed by the running back to be hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
"Through internal testing and second opinions, Journey Brown will no longer be able to play football," Franklin announced Wednesday night. "It was discovered through a routine Covid-19 test, although it is not COVID related. We learned about this in early September and we've been working through this and dealing with this as a team. Journey is one of the most popular and respected players on our team.
"The entire organization has rallied behind Journey and his family. Journey has handled this extremely well, and I know he'll be extremely successful in whatever he decides to do.
"This is something that we found out about in early September and then we were able to go outside and get some second opinions and it was confirmed exactly what our doctors thought here on campus.
"Obviously, that came as a huge blow in September for our team, so I wanted to update you guys on that."
Not a Subscriber? Join us With Our FREE 30-Day Premium Trial
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 last season, 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 a 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.
(Update: 7 p.m.)
Brown released a statement regarding the news Wednesday evening via social media.
The statement reads, in full:
"I can still remember the first time I truly fell in love with the game I've been playing since 4th grade. Back then it was a game I played for fun, but when I was a sophomore in high school, my life changed, and I fell in love with football. All I could think of was when can I play, how can I get better, what can I do to be a better teammate, and at that moment, football became less of a game for me and more of a lifestyle. That lifestyle put me in position to be blessed to have a chance to play football at Penn State. My first year here was rough at times, but when you love the game of football as much as I do, you put your head down and work through scout team, Lion's Den and the waiting and watching. I finally had the opportunity to showcase what I was born to do and, hopefully, set myself up to achieve my life-long dream of playing in the NFL. Unfortunately, the dream will never be realized as I have been diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which will force me to medically retire from the game of football. The pain of not being able to play the game I love anymore hurts and I can't explain how I am feeling right now. However, I can walk away from the game knowing I truly gave my all at every practice, on every down and in the locker room every day. You never know when you will play your last snap, 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. I won't miss the game of football because it will always be a part of me. Thank you to my family for always supporting me, especially during these difficult past few months. Thank you to my teammates, my brothers. Thank you to my coaches. Thank you, Meadville. Thank you, Penn State. Thank you to everyone who believed in me. Most importantly, thank you football!"
Journey Brown
*******
• Talk about this article inside The Lions Den
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue-White Illustrated
• Follow us on Twitter: @BWIonRivals, @NateBauerBWI, @RivalsSnyder, @DavidEckert98
• Like us on Facebook