Journey Brown leads Penn State's deep stable of running backs

Ja’Juan Seider meant no disrespect when he arrived at Penn State to coach running backs two years ago and declared Journey Brown was “a track kid playing football.”

Of course, that’s what Brown was.

He won back-to-back 100-meter PIAA Class AAA championships at Meadville, clocking 10.73 seconds in 2016 and 10.43 a year later, breaking the state record held for 32 years by Olympian Leroy Burrell.

Now, he’s focused on football and is climbing the ladder as one of the top running backs in the Big Ten.

“When I first got here, I said he was a track kid playing football, and I meant that,” Seider said Tuesday on a Zoom conference call with reporters. “But that was not being negative. He was a fast kid. He had measurables. He had talent. He just didn’t know how to tap into it.”

That ability surfaced in grand fashion in the last five games of 2019 when he totaled 593 yards rushing, including a Penn State bowl-record 202 against Memphis in the Cotton Bowl.

“I know I’m biased,” Seider said, “but I thought Journey Brown was playing as well as any running back in the country … as well as Miles (Sanders) played the year before.

“He has freakish athletic ability and strength. The thing I was so impressed (with) in the bowl game was finally getting him to play as fast as he is.”

The kid who ran for a state-record 722 yards in Meadville’s 107-90 victory against DuBois in 2015 stands atop Penn State’s depth chart at running back. But Seider says there’s plenty of competition closing the gap.

“I view all three of those guys in my mind as starters right now,” Seider said.

With Saquon Barkley and Miles Sanders going to the NFL as first- and second-round draft choices in 2018 and ’19, Penn State recruited four-star running backs Noah Cain and Devyn Ford a year ago.

“If we didn’t sign Devyn and Noah, we would have been in trouble going forward,” Seider said. “I knew Journey had potential, but I didn’t see him developing the way he has until we actually got on the field.

“You have to protect yourself a little bit, especially with the climate where it’s easy for kids to quit and transfer now instead of fighting sometimes.”

He expects all three backs to continue competing this season.

Cain (5-foot-10, 223 pounds) grew up in Baton Rouge, La., and played at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. He set a Penn State freshman record last season with eight rushing touchdowns, passing D.J. Dozier (1983) and Barkley (2015).

Ford (5-11, 200), of Stafford, Va., became the first Penn State freshman to run for 100 yards in an opener (107 vs. Idaho) since Curt Warner (1979) while flashing athletic brilliance Seider couldn’t miss.

“This kid is so physically gifted,” Seider said. “He’s got the best hips I’ve seen out of a player. He can sink his hips and explode through the smallest crease. He can be a problem matching up with linebackers in coverage. He’s going to play football for a long time, in my opinion.”

Seider said last season helped Ford improve his mental approach to the game.

“For the first time, like all freshmen, (he was) enjoying college a little bit too much,” Seider said. “Not saying he was partying, but (having) that much freedom.

“It happened easy to him early, and he forgot you got to do it every week.”

Brown’s speed — some believe he might have more sprinter’s speed than any Penn State back in history — creates interesting competition at practice.

“What I thought was cool was all those guys pushing themselves to run with Journey in the sprint drills,” Seider said.

After replenishing depth at the position, Penn State’s running backs must live up to the standard they set a year ago.

“You have to prepare different to have a target on your back because last year you were supposed to be the weak link,” Seider said, “and now everybody is going to look at you as one of the better groups in the country.

“So, what are you going to do to get better?”