The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Overshadowed Brown making name for himself
Ji’Ayir Brown has grown accustomed to being overshadowed by Penn State teammates.
Last year, it was Jaquan Brisker, who’s a rookie safety with the Chicago Bears.
This year, it’s Joey Porter Jr., a cornerback who has been projected to be a first-round draft pick next spring.
Brown, though, is an outstanding player in his own right who led the nation last year in interceptions and who this year is the glue that holds together the Nittany Lions defense.
“I don’t think he’s getting enough attention,” Penn State coach James Franklin said Tuesday. “I don’t think enough people are talking about him when it comes to college football awards, when it comes to the NFL. His name should be all over the place.
“He’s playing his tail off. He makes his teammates better. He’s able to impact the game both in the run game and in the pass game. He’s a very wellrounded football player. And he’s been a phenomenal leader for us.”
Brown will return to his home state when the 11th-ranked Lions (5-2 Big Ten, 8-2) take on Rutgers (1-6, 4-6) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (TV-BTN) at Piscataway, N.J.
The former Trenton Central star will have more than two dozen relatives and friends watching one of his final college games.
“Oh, man, it’s supposed to be a big turnout Saturday,” Brown said. “A lot of people have been texting me this week. I had like 30 people text me saying they’re going to the game.
“It’s going to be good to play in Jersey one last time in my last year at Penn State against a great opponent like Rutgers and to be able to put on a show for my hometown.”
The 5-11, 202-pound Brown, also known as “Tig,” is having a marvelous season at safety for the Lions, leading them with 55 tackles and three interceptions and also collecting 5.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, three pass break-ups, four quarterback hurries and one forced fumble.
Penn State ranks sixth nationally in pass efficiency defense, 16th in points allowed (19.0), 26th in rushing defense (120.4) and 31st in total defense (339.3).
Brown, however, believes he has fallen short of the goals he set when he decided to return to the Lions for his final year of eligibility.
“I haven’t reached any of the expectations I set for myself,” he said. “but those bars I really set for myself
are really high. Some may say they’re a bit crazy, but I believe I can do anything as a player. Every goal I pretty much set for myself, I always try my best to get to it.”
Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz has used Brown in multiple ways, at safety, at linebacker and as a pass rusher.
“I’m doing similar things that I did in high school,” he said. “I rushed off the edge back then, played a little linebacker and played safety. It’s come full circle for me with all the positions I’m playing now.
“To be able to do the same things in my last year at Penn State, it’s kind of amazing, man. I definitely appreciate it. I’m enjoying every moment.”
At Trenton Central, Brown scored touchdowns five different ways as a senior — rushing, receiving, kickoff return, punt return and interception return. He also passed for another score. In basketball, he averaged 12.4 points, 10.4 rebounds and an amazing 6.7 steals as the Tornadoes reached the New Jersey Group IV semifinals.
Yet Montclair State and several junior colleges were the only ones to recruit Brown because of his low grades. He wound up choosing Lackawanna College, one of the premier juco programs
in the country.
He played there two years, one with Brisker alongside him, and was a first-team All-American in 2019 when Franklin and the Penn State staff recruited him.
“Four years ago I didn’t even know I was going to school,” Brown recalled. “I knew I was a good player. I knew I could play on any stage. I didn’t know how I was going to get there or where I was going to be.
“Coming to Penn State I have grown in ways that I didn’t know I was going to grow in.”
After playing in every game in 2020 as a reserve, he won a starting position before last season when he intercepted six passes and was named to the coaches All-Big Ten third team.
This season, he was elected a team captain and has mentored fellow safeties Keaton Ellis, Zakee Wheatley, Jaylen Reed and K.J. Winston.
“He’s probably one of the guys whose rep (repetition) count was high early on,” Franklin said. “Why? Because we felt strongly and Coach Poindexter (safeties coach Anthony Poindexter) felt strongly that all those guys played better when Tig was on the field with them.
“We’re a better defense when Tig’s on the field on the back end. I think he has had a huge impact on our defense as a whole and specifically the guys around him.”
Brown has done a lot in his three seasons at Penn State, but he believes the football team and the university have done just as much for him. He’s on track to graduate in December with a degree in telecommunications.
“This place is very special for a young kid from Trenton, N.J.,” he said, “and learning so much, (like) different culture and different scenery, things that I never imagined that I would be into. I’m just learning about myself in different ways.
“It’s just an unbelievable experience being where I come from, where there are not too many opportunities like this given out. I just try to make the best of it and try to appreciate it knowing that my time here was short. I try to soak in as much as I can.”
Franklin wishes the Lions could have more players like Ji’Ayir Brown on and off the field.
“He’s been phenomenal in every way that I can describe,” Franklin said. “He’s very driven. He’s very competitive. He has a really good ability to see the big picture. He has tremendous perspective.
“His mom (Joy Ingram) is a huge driving force in his life and in how he was brought up. She did a phenomenal job.”