Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1305106
HITCH AND GO After his sophomore season was cut short by an injury, Cam Sullivan-Brown is looking to make up for lost time in Penn State's rebuilt receiver corps eading Cam Sullivan-Brown is, by design, a challenge. A journalism major with a minor in theater, the redshirt junior wide receiver wants to be an actor once his ca- reer in football wraps up. So, when discussing his 2019 season, which ended abruptly with what was de- scribed as a "lower limb" injury he sus- tained in the second half of Penn State's lopsided victory at Maryland last Sep- tember, Sullivan-Brown is measured and, by every indication, optimistic. "Last year, it started pretty well. I had an injury that took me out for a good ma- jority of the season, but it started pretty well. I started pretty fast," he said. "There were some injury challenges, but it's nothing. It's just some adversity." Sullivan-Brown was having a solid night against the Terrapins before every- thing suddenly ended. He had caught five passes for 35 yards, building on a noncon- ference season in which he caught three passes in victories over Idaho and Pitt. He was targeted eight times in his abbrevi- ated season and snagged every pass that was thrown in his direction, finishing with 56 yards. Among Penn State re- ceivers with at least five receptions in 2019, Sullivan-Brown's Pro Football Focus receiving mark for the year was second only to that of eventual second- round NFL Draft selection K.J. Hamler. It's now been more than a year since his five-catch performance in the Nittany Lions' 59-0 rout of Maryland, and Sulli- van-Brown is eager to make up for lost time. Although he was deeply disap- pointed to have to watch most of the sea- son from the sideline, he looks back on the experience as an opportunity for per- sonal growth. For starters, the time away from the playing field allowed him to approach the game from a new perspective. Unable to put the daily lessons of then-receivers coach Gerad Parker into action, Sullivan- Brown said he instead focused on gaining a more complete understanding of the position. "I got to develop the mental aspect of it and see it more from maybe an offensive coordinator's or wide receiver coach's perspective. And I learned how to study film much better," he said. "So I don't think it stunted my development, be- cause physically I'm as good as ever. I just actually gained the mental aspect more, so I think it might have helped me." Fellow receiver Jahan Dotson said be- fore the season began that he was seeing Sullivan-Brown's behind-the-scenes work paying off in practice. In addition to being 100 percent healthy again, the 6-foot-0, 191-pound wideout was put- ting last year's mental reps to good use, using the knowledge he gained to take on | R