Torrence Brown focuses on leadership in spite of injury
Torrence Brown wasn't giving anything away.
The redshirt junior defensive end, lost for the season in the first half of the Nittany Lions’ win against Georgia State in Week Three at Beaver Stadium, met with the media for the first time since his injury in Arizona last week. Available to answer questions at Fiesta Bowl Media Day, Brown delicately attempted to ask a reporter’s inquiry into his status with the program currently and moving into the future.
Holding with head coach James Franklin's example of not discussing injuries, Brown deferred much in the way of detail.
“Hopefully I'll be back next year,” said Brown. “I can't really talk about it, but hopefully.”
Though his status for next season remains in doubt, the support of the Penn State football program and community in his injury’s aftermath is not.
Met by an outpouring of love from coaches, teammates and Nittany Lion fans, the unspecified injury that would end his season was mitigated at least somewhat by the reaction he received to the news. From the requests of teammates on the defensive line to wear his number in Penn State’s next game, an honor bestowed upon fellow defensive end Shareef Miller at Iowa, to the words of encouragement he received, Brown said it all was important to him.
“It meant the world to me that all of my teammates were there for me when I got hurt, especially everybody on the defensive line, everybody asking to wear my number and play for me and everything like that,” said Brown. “So it just meant the world to me for people to be there for me like that.”
The rest of the season, then, Brown said he was determined to also be there for them.
Rather than disappearing into his rehabilitation or the safe haven of his apartment, Brown said he concentrated on evolving his leadership style into one that could unite and propel Penn State’s defensive line unit forward in his absence on the field.
“When I got hurt, I became more of a vocal leader. I used to try to lead by example, but when I got hurt I definitely became more of a leader to the younger guys and I'm just trying to be there for anybody who needed to talk,” he said. “I just try to be more of that type of a leader.”
Unfamiliar with that type of leadership role, Brown added, his typically reserved demeanor had to transition into something more authoritative, instructive and confident.
“It was something that, I wouldn't say it was tough transitioning, but it was different,” he said. “It wasn't very tough because I talk to my teammates all the time, but I wasn't very vocal when it came to leadership roles. So I feel like, with the teammates I got, they listen very well and it was easy to be a vocal leader to them.”
How that relationship progresses through the spring and into next season remains to be seen, but regardless of his own status, Brown is optimistic that the unit has a bright future given its youthful contributions from the 2017 season.
Acknowledging the last games played for the likes of Tyrell Chavis, Curtis Cothran and Parker Cothren in the Fiesta Bowl, their absences would not preclude the up-and-coming impact of second-stringers Kevin Givens and Robert Windsor, among others, on the interior of the defensive line.
“Of course we got some roles to fill and people leaving, but I feel like we got all the right pieces to fill those roles in with no problem,” said Brown. “I feel like we won't miss a beat next year and we'll have great leadership from great guys like Kevin Givens and Rob Windsor. We got young guys that we're developing and they're going to be great too.”