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P E N N S TAT E FO O T BA L L >> 2 0 1 9 K I C KO F F S P E C I A L period down here, but he was lowering his shoulder, just trying to run our DBs over. He's not a huge back, but he'll lower his shoulder, and he'll de7nitely beat you with speed." On one play, the 5-foot-11, 206-pound Brown o8ered a glimpse of the potential that Penn State's coaches and fans have been hoping to see since he became a late addition to the Class of 2017. The most celebrated elements of his game – quickness and speed – have been there from the start. In high school, he turned in a 10.43-second 100-meter time, breaking a PIAA record that had been held for more than three decades by future Olympian Leroy Burrell. And as a redshirt freshman with the Nittany Lions, his tremendous speed captured the imagina- tion of head coach James Franklin. But it wasn't just his speed that caught Franklin's eye. The coach was also im- pressed with the physicality Brown dis- played in scout team scrimmages conducted during Penn State's o8-week. "We knew he could run, but being able to run fast on a track and being able to do it at this level, he's really shown some- thing the last couple of weeks," Franklin said during Brown's true freshman sea- son. "He has the ability to break tackles, which you didn't know, because in high school you're just faster than everybody." Brown's performances in the months since then have only served to con7rm Franklin's 7rst impressions. Most of those performances have taken place in prac- tice; he didn't see much game action last year playing behind Miles Sanders and Ricky Slade, posting eight carries for 44 yards and one touchdown, a 6-yard fourth-quarter jaunt to cap a 63-24 blowout at Illinois. Assistant coach Ja'Juan Seider said that the sta8 was eager to see how Brown would respond a9er rarely touching the ball in his 7rst season. "He felt like he had to be a backseat cheerleader," Seider said. "You always wondered, was he going to love to play the game? Was he going to try to be the guy? "That was the biggest question. I said the same thing. People remember my 7rst interview [at Penn State], I said he's a track kid playing football. He's learning how to play football. Sometimes it takes a while, you know, to be taught the nuances." Now, Seider said, Brown "believes he can play." Despite being sent home from campus during the summer for unspeci7ed disci- plinary reasons, Brown earned Franklin's praise again at Big Ten media days last month. With Sanders having le9 early for the NFL, Franklin said he believes Brown is capable of having a "breakout year" as the Lions look to replenish their back7eld. "He's big, he's strong, he's fast, he's ex- plosive. The game is coming more natu- rally to him. He's starting to play with the speed and athleticism that he has. And he's just maturing and growing up," Franklin said. "It's funny, because some of these guys [in the transfer portal] are going to go to the next school and have success and people are going to say, 'See, it was the right move. They've had success.' Well, maybe it's just that they're a year older. "I think that's the case with Journey. He's a year older, he's so much more con- 7dent, and he's always been an unbeliev- able athlete. And I just think he's more comfortable, more con7dent, and as he knows the o8ense, he's processing infor- mation faster. Now he's able to translate [with] a lot less thinking and a lot more instincts and playing. I think he's got a chance to have a really big year for us." Seider agrees that Brown may be on the verge of a breakthrough now that he has acclimated to the college game and devel- oped the con7dence that he can play at a high level. "Some kids we've got to coach," Seider said. "We've got to coach them di8er- ently. As coaches, we've got to 7nd out what makes these kids tick. You can't coach every kid the same. I think he bought in and he believed in me and I be- lieve in him, and I think good things are ahead for us with this kid." ■ JOE KRENTZMAN & SON, INC. • Buyers and Brokers of Steel, Iron and Nonferrous Metals • Industrial Scrap Buyers • Container Service Available • Large Service Territory Since 1903 Lewistown, PA • Hollidaysburg, PA • DuBois, PA (800) 543-2000 • www.krentzman.net F irst i n S cra p

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