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Penn State RB coach on Journey Brown: ‘He’s been motivating everyone else’ since diagnosis
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His time with Penn State football might be over but that isn’t stopping Journey Brown from continuing to make an impact on the field with his former teammates.
This week, Brown retired from football, the fallout of a heart condition that was discovered during COVID-19. Penn State head coach James Franklin said that the diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was not related to the coronavirus.
A star at Penn State who emerged in 2019 as one of the best running backs in the nation, Brown is still sticking around the Nittany Lions program. While he can’t carry the ball anymore, he still has taken on quite a workload according to running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider.
“As soon as he found the news he grieved a little bit and then he’s been motivating everyone else,” said Seider according to Aubrey Snyder of The Athletic. “He had an appointment Friday and was right back here with me Saturday. … My heart breaks for him.”
https://twitter.com/audsnyder4/status/1326925922864300033
Seider is in his third season with Penn State.
Last year, Brown put together an impressive sophomore season, with 890 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground. In addition, he had 134 receiving yards on 15 catches with one touchdown.
He was expected to take another step forward his junior season and potentially become a selection in next spring’s NFL Draft.
The loss of Brown is a big blow to the 0-3 Nittany Lions but Seider said it is worth it to ensure that his former player is healthy.
“I’d rather have you here alive for the rest of your life until we know what’s next,” Seider said according to Snyder. “It’s bigger than football.”