Blue White Illustrated

There've been some sharp turns along the way, but PSU's Matt Brown has never lost sight of his goal: a national championship att Brown's Penn State story begins long ago – long before he became a two-time All-American with the Nittany Lions and before the spotlight rested upon him this year as the team's senior leader. This Penn State story began even before a recruiting visit to University Park four years ago, following a two-year religious mission to Africa, and certainly be- fore he settled in as the starting 174- pounder on the two most recent of the team's four consecutive NCAA ti- tle runs. Yes, it goes back even further. In the mid-1970s Brown's parents, Dave and Cindy, were students at Penn State. Both natives of Altoona, they married in State College during Dave's junior year. A journalism ma- jor, Dave spent about 0ve years with the Centre Daily Times, his second job a2er graduation, before eventual- ly moving to Utah, where he's now an attorney and owns his own law 0rm. Cindy is a nurse. Although they remained Penn State sports fans a2er their move across the country, they could only dream of their son going back to Pennsylvania and following in their PSU footsteps. They never could have envisioned the way it happened. Matt Brown was a three-time state champion at Cyprus High School in West Valley City, Utah – about an hour's drive from Cael Sanderson's hometown of Heber City – and 0n- ished with a 149-4 career record. Sanderson 0rst noticed him when he was still coaching at Iowa State. While attending a high school wrestling camp to evaluate another Utah prospect (who later committed to Boise State), the coach found his attention dri2ing elsewhere. "I couldn't take my eye o1 Brown, just watching him," Sanderson recalled. "He was go, go, go." Brown eventually signed and en- rolled at Iowa State, Sanderson's alma mater. He redshirted his 0rst year, and then a2er the season, as a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, Brown opted to take a two-year Mor- mon mission to African countries Mozambique and Zimbabwe. NCAA regulations allow student- athletes to take religious missions without a1ecting their eligibility, but they remain bound to their letter of | JOURNEY'S END M M E N T P R E V I E W

• Cover