Recruit Rewind: Detailing WR Josiah Brown's path to Penn State

Penn State football has broken for spring break, starting spring practices on Tuesday next week. Among its new participants, receiver Josiah Brown be part of the program for his first session while continuing to recuperate from an injury that derailed his senior season in high school.

Keeping with our series of profiles identifying the program’s newest members, today, we’ll recap Brown’s path to becoming a Nittany Lion.

Josiah Brown
WR
5-11 | 170
Malverne Senior
Malverne, N. Y.

Rankings	Stars	National	Position	State
On3 Industry	***	520	81	3
On3	***	N/R	89	5
ESPN	****	176	8	1
Rivals	***	N/R	103	3
247Sports	***	N/R	81	3

Statistics

• Brown notched 589 all-purpose yards and eight touchdowns before his injury.

Notable

• All-State selection in 2023
• Three-time All-Catholic League selection
• All-State selection in track

Recruitment

• Committed to Penn State on June 23, 2023
• Recruited by receivers coach Marques Hagans
• Offered in March 2022, making visits in April 2022, January and April 2023, with a June official visit weekend.
• Picked Penn State over Rutgers and Georgia, with offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Notre Dame and Oklahoma, among others.
• Enrolled at Penn State for the spring semester.

Projection

Given Brown’s injury situation upon his arrival to Penn State, seeing him as a significant contributor out of the gates is unlikely, even at a position of need like receiver. Instead, needing time to marinate and take strides in the weight room, Brown’s first months with the Nittany Lions will be dedicated to getting back to full health and building himself up physically.

BWI analyst Thomas Frank Carr: “Speed alone isn’t enough to make a football player good. But it’s not a bad place to start. Brown doesn’t have the top speed that makes your head spin, but he’s consistently faster than his opponents on film. When given a chance to run routes downfield, he can turn a skinny post into a touchdown with a second gear that blows away the defensive secondary. When we look at his listed times, he has a sub-4.50 40-yard dash on his resume and is consistently below 11.00 seconds in his 100-meter dash times from this spring. In many ways, Brown is the modern receiver who can turn a small amount of space into a big play. Penn State has had great success with these players, from KJ Hamler to Jahan Dotson.”

Get to know Penn State WR Josiah Brown

From the jump, Penn State identified receiver Josiah Brown as a priority target. With good reason, Brown’s speed proved a differentiating factor in his on-field performances, notching a 10.75 second 100-meter dash with film to match.

This much, said Penn State head coach James Franklin, was clear.

“When you talk about Josiah Brown, he was a guy that we identified very early on,” said Franklin. “He had track times to back it up. Came to camp. Ran really well in camp.” 

By late-June 2023, the Nittany Lions’ pursuit of Brown and his talents found resolution in the form of a verbal commitment. Picking Penn State over offers from Rutgers and Georgia, having made visits to State College, Pa., and Piscataway, N.J., respectively, the relationships established were enough to put him over the top.

“Like Coach Hagans, Coach Franklin has a great personality,” said Brown. “He was giving me some life lessons. But also, Coach Franklin is just a fun guy. He’s funny, but he has a good mix of that and being serious when it’s time to be serious. He showed my family a lot of love. I have nothing but respect for him.”

That respect was validated fully for Brown last fall. 

In October, Brown suffered a non-contact injury to his right knee that was comprehensive in nature. According to Brown, its extent included a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), a torn medial collateral ligament (MCL) and a torn meniscus. And it happened with Franklin in the stands for his Malverne, N.Y., team’s game against Cold Spring Harbor. 

The injury put to an end a season that had just gotten off the ground for Brown. Forcing a surgery shortly thereafter, Brown’s campaign of seven catches for 155 yards and four touchdowns, plus another 12 carries for 201 yards and two scores, came to an abrupt halt. 

His status in recruiting circles suffered as a result. Ranked No. 297 in the On300 for the Class of 2024 at the time of the injury, with status as the No. 50-ranked receiver in the country, Brown tumbled precipitously among the internet recruiting services. 

Undeterred, Franklin and the Penn State coaching staff welcomed Brown as a December signee. And, they ultimately brought him into the program as an early enrollee in January. 

A sentiment that shined during his family’s in-home visit from Franklin and the Nittany Lion staff, the program’s plan for his immediate and longterm future left Brown feeling confident and comfortable in what would come next.

“It was a mixture of both [football and relationship building]. Coach Franklin explained the plan that they’re setting for me. We talked about my injury and that they have great doctors up there. And that I’ll be well taken care of,” Brown said. “When I go up there, I’ll be attacking rehab hard. They were explaining how I can keep gaining weight while rehabbing everything.”

A process now well-underway, it’s one Brown will lean into as he works to reward Penn State’s confidence in his abilities.