Penn State cracks Top 10 for Ath. Josiah Brown
New York athlete Josiah Brown announced his top schools Monday, and as expected, Penn State made the cut. In addition to the Nittany Lions, Brown also included Duke, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Rutgers, South Carolina and Syracuse.
According to the On3 Consensus, which equally weighs On3, 247, ESPN and Rivals, Brown is ranked No. 125 nationally in the Class of 2024. Our staff at On3 rates him the highest of the four sites, coming in at No. 50 nationally and fifth overall at athlete.
At 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, Brown would play wide receiver if he ends up at Penn State. He said last month that he talks with the Nittany Lion coaching staff as much or more than any other school.
“I’ve been talking to them very frequently. They’ve been recruiting me really well,” Brown said. “I love the coaching staff. They’ve always treated me like one of their own. They always bring good energy and the visit I just took was amazing.”
So far, Brown has been to Rutgers substantially more than any other school, visiting seven times total dating back to the 2021 season. Penn State has hosted him twice so far, more recently on Jan. 21 for a junior day.
“I love the way Coach Franklin was with me and my family. He really welcomed us with open arms,” Brown said following the visit. “He shared a lot of facts with us about Penn State. I learned a lot about the degree there and how much it holds up when you graduate from Penn State. We talked a lot about that and just how important I am to them in this class.”
So far, Brown has earned 21 verbal scholarship offers. He said last month that, in addition to Penn State, there are three other schools that have been the most aggressive to this point.
“I would say the most aggressive so far are Georgia, Rutgers and Nebraska,” Brown said. “Penn State is in that group of recruiting me, too. I’m trying to get out to all of those places and see everything when I can.”
Last spring, Brown ran the 100-meter in 10.76 seconds. However, he said he doesn’t plan to run track again this spring, electing to instead focus on training for football.
