Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1410640
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1 2 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M H i s re d s h i r t so p h o m o re sea so n brought an opportunity to join the ro- tation, but Ebiketie, who was born in Yaounde, Cameroon, and grew up in Silver Spring, Md., wouldn't truly enter the spotlight until the shortened 2020 season, when he led Temple in tackles for loss (8.5), sacks (four) and forced fumbles (three), in addition to making 42 total tackles. It was only after his redshirt junior season that he felt his skills had im- proved to the point where he was ready for a higher level of competition. And that's what led him to look around and settle on the Nittany Lions. "I'm from Maryland, and Penn State is three hours away," Ebiketie said. "I didn't feel like going all the way to the West Coast or the South, so I definitely felt like it was the right fit for me." The Nittany Lions' coaching staff felt that way, too, and Franklin said he wasn't surprised by Ebiketie's breakout perfor- mance against Wisconsin. "There's been a buzz about AK since he showed up on campus," Franklin said. "He's an explosive guy, a productive guy. I think he'll only get better from this, from going against this offensive line, one of the better offensive lines in col- lege football. To come here and have that be his first taste of Big Ten football is interesting." Ebiketie is undoubtedly an interesting player, a player for whom opposing of- fensive coordinators are going to have to account in the weeks to come. Another interesting thing is that while the victory at Wisconsin was his intro- duction to a national audience, there's so much more for Ebiketie to accomplish this season. He was already on track to be one of Penn State's best offseason addi- tions, but now he can set his sights on Big Ten and maybe even All-America hon- ors. He's been that good so far. And for all the excitement he has in- stilled in Penn State fans, no one was more enthused about how the season began than Ebiketie himself. "It was exciting, definitely," he said. "I never felt anything like that. It felt good to be out here with these guys and play- ing in this environment." ■ The first sign that senior Ji'Ayir Brown was about to emerge as one of Penn State's starting safeties came on March 24 when head coach James Franklin fielded questions from reporters following a spring practice session. "Ji'Ayir – we call him 'Tig' – has had a really good spring," Franklin said. "I think he's leading us right now in turnovers, and he's just much more comfort- able and much more confident, which we typically see in second-year players, whether you're a second- year high school or second-year junior college player. "He's an awesome young man in general. He's very appreciative of the opportunity to be here at Penn State." Brown, a Trenton, N.J., native who transferred from Lackawanna College last year, won the job opposite his former juco teammate Jaquan Brisker, and he turned in one of the biggest moments of his career in Week 1 by securing the Nittany Lions' 16-10 win over Wisconsin with a game-sealing interception as time expired. Penn State fans are becoming increasingly familiar with Brown's football skills, but less well known is the origin of his nickname, which dates back to his youth. "It's from the cartoon character from Winnie the Pooh — Tigger the Tiger," Brown said. "My original nickname was Tigger because I used to jump around a lot when I was a baby. As I got older, I didn't want people calling me Tigger, so I just cut it short to have people calling me Tig." Brown may have grown out of his original nickname, but his high-energy demeanor hasn't changed. Against the Badgers, the 5-foot-11, 205-pound safety bounced all over the field, making six tackles, break- ing up a pass with a near-interception, and eventually coming up with the turnover that guaranteed Penn State's victory. All told, he played 79 snaps in the opener, and while he left the game briefly because of an injury, at no point did he run out of energy during his first start at the FBS level. "We had a lot of guys who were hungry and eager to get the win," Brown said. "We were not going to let anything bad happen. It was going to be on our terms. We were going to control the game on defense." Penn State recruited Brown as part of its 2020 recruiting class. He was a two-time team captain at Trenton Central High and three-time first-team all-conference pick at the prep level before moving on to Lackawa- nna College, where he was a first-team NCJAA All-American as a sophomore. The defensive back prospect earned an offer from the Nittany Lions following a summer camp perfor- mance in June 2019 and committed a few days later. "The thing that stood out to me right way when I recruited Tig is that he's just an awesome kid," Franklin said. "He's always got a smile on his face. One of the things that stood out to me, that I think is telling, is how many family members were there, how many people from the community were there. His high school coach, Pop Warner coach, they were all there, and they just all love Tig. "That's the type of guy he is. You love to coach him. He's got a really good way about him to be one of the guys with his teammates, but he also has a really good way, a respectable, coachable, fun way to be around coaches and adults as well." During his time at Lackawanna, Brown said he never focused much on what came next. But he never doubted that he would have a chance to showcase his talents. "I've always been a guy who lives in the present," he said. "I did everything I was supposed to do and hoped for the best. I never really thought about my future when I was at Lackawanna or at high school. "I always knew I was going to be somewhere where I was going to wind up being great." Added Franklin, "I think there is still a lot left in the tank for him. I think there is still a lot of room for improvement. We saw a few flashes last year. I think you'll see more this year as the year goes on. I'm really proud of him, really excited about him. I'm glad he's on our team." — Greg Pickel High-Energy Ji'Ayir Brown Puts A Charge In Lions' Secondary Brown came up with the decisive play in Penn State's victory at Wisconsin. The senior safety stopped the Badgers' final drive with his first career interception for the Lions. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL