Penn State RB Journey Brown may miss season due to medical condition

The Penn State Nittany Lions confirmed late Monday night that running back Journey Brown could miss the entire 2020 college football season. 

"Journey Brown is being treated for a medical condition discovered during the offseason and will potentially miss the 2020 football season,'' Penn State announced in an official statement shared by outlets such as ESPN's Adam Rittenberg and Mark Brennan of 247Sports. 

Brown enjoyed a breakout 2019 campaign when he tallied 890 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns along with one receiving score. He set university postseason records when he gained 202 rushing yards and posted an average of 12.6 yards per carry in the Cotton Bowl victory over Memphis. 

During the Oct. 1 media day, Brown admitted that he briefly considered opting out of the season held amid the coronavirus pandemic but never spoke with running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider about potentially leaving the program. 

"I had thoughts, but I value Coach Seider's opinion very much and I feel like he knows what he's talking about," Brown explained at that time. "And he got me to this point, just coaching me. So I have full and (utmost) respect for him. So I wasn't even gonna consider leaving without talking to him and getting his opinion on it, regardless. So if I had thought about it, I would have talked to Coach Seider about it, and we never talked about it, so it was never a thought."

Back in July, Dane Brugler of The Athletic named Brown his No. 1 draft-eligible RB for 2021: 

"Though not quite the physical specimen as Saquon Barkley (who is?), Brown looks straight out of central casting with his rocked up, ready-made body type for the position. And not only does he look the part, but he plays as physical as he looks with the contact balance to be a human pinball, keeping his feet and staying afloat."

Jacob Schyvinck of NFL Mocks added: "Brown has a serious chance to contend for the top running back spot in the 2021 NFL Draft." 

Sophomores Noah Cain and Devyn Ford are expected to rise up the PSU depth chart. Cain finished 2019 with 443 rushing yards and eight scores, while Ford added 294 rushing yards and three touchdowns.