Collegiate running backs everywhere trying to chase down Chase
SARASOTA – It's appropriate college football's leading rusher is named Chase.
Opponents have chased him around the field, without much success. The country's other running backs are chasing him on the stat sheet, but he won't surrender the top spot without a fight. Journalists have chased him everywhere, all wanting the definitive story of how a player emerged from a Class 1A football program to become, so far, the class of college backs.
His name is Chase Brown, and that's all that's needed for Saint Stephen Episcopal's football fans to puff their chests with pride. Not the programs at Venice High, Manatee High, Palmetto High, Riverview High, or anywhere else in the area have done what the Falcons have. Produce a running back the numbers anoint as the best there is. The country's top rusher.
That would be the 5-foot-11, 213-pound fifth-year junior. As a senior at Saint Stephen's, Brown rushed for 1,508 yards. Last season for the Fighting Illini of the University of Illinois, his 1,005 yards topped the team and earned him All-Big Ten status. In his last game, against Northwestern, Brown gained 112 yards, his fourth 100-yard-plus effort of the season.in
To say he picked up this season where he ended last would be a gross understatement.
In Illinois' first game, a 38-6 victory over Wyoming, Brown rushed for 151 yards and two scores. Since then, he's had games of 199 yards against Indiana University, 146 against the University of West Virginia, 108 against Chattanooga, and last week, 129 in his team's 34-10 victory over Wisconsin. Brown did it again on Saturday night, rushing for 146 yards on 31 carries in Illinois' 9-6 win over Iowa, moving the Fighting Illini to 5-1.
"Honestly, I don't think I've done anything crazy yet," he said. "There are bigger games to come. That's my mindset right now."
Brown's performances add up to 877 yards, putting him first in the country among running backs, 146 yards in front of Marshall's Khalan Laborn, who plays Wednesday night versus Louisiana. Brown became the first Illini player in history to rush for 100-plus yards in the first five games of a season, and tops the nation in rushes of 10-plus yards with 28.
The Doak Walker Award annually honors the top running back in college football, an award Brown would be in contention for should he maintain his current pace the rest of the season. But to the player who has as Illini teammates three ex-Falcon teammates – brother Sydney, Peyton Vining, and Dylan Davis – individual awards don't register.
Brown even was hesitant to list the personal goals he had coming into the season, preferring to keep them private. But as his former head coach at Saint Stephen's, Tod Creneti, would attest, Chase Brown is all about team success.
More: The Brown brothers both know their way around a gridiron
"One thing I knew is that I wanted to win games, and that's exactly what we've been able to do," he said. "I want to do whatever I can to help this team win games. I just want to be able to look back on my senior campaign and be proud of what I put together." Having a brother and two former high school teammates at Illinois with him might be a memory Brown cherishes the most.
"It's cool," he said. "These college years, and the experiences you come across, they're priceless. To be able to do it with guys I went to high school with . . . remembering road wins like Wisconsin and Penn State with these guys. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm grateful."
Back in 2016, both Chase and Sydney had no idea what awaited them. Born in London, Ontario, the two desired to play Division I football. But realizing their dream couldn't be reached in Canada, the mother of the identical twins, born two minutes apart, arranged for them to live with a host family in Lakewood Ranch and enroll in Saint Stephen's. The two, Chase at running back, and Sydney at safety, played key roles in the Falcons winning their first Sunshine State Athletic Conference championship.
"We always saw big things in Chase and Sydney," said Creneti, now the girls lacrosse coach at Saint Stephen's. "Both boys are highly skilled, but more importantly, both had an uncommon work ethic. Things have fallen into place for Chase at Illinois. He is playing for a coach who loves to run the ball in a pass-happy world.
"Nothing Chase does really surprises me. As hard as he works, he makes good things happen. The sky is the limit for him. This has been fun to watch."
Brown packs a variety of skills into his 5-11, 213-pound frame, which he propels down the field with a reckless abandon. Deceptively fast – he's had long runs of 49, 38, 36 and 32 yards – Brown has exceptional balance and burst. But he thinks another attribute might be his best, one shared by all great runners.
"Vision," he said. "I think vision is one of the best parts of my game. You see comeback lanes and have a really good feel for where the defenders are."
Brown might have had an idea this season would be special. On Iliinois' first play from scrimmage, he broke free for a 38-yard gain. On the next play, he caught a 14-yard touchdown.
"I've developed my game in different ways," he said. "I'll sit in the film room and watch other teams play and watch the running backs going against defenses. I try to envision how I'm going to attack the defense. How did he do it, and how can I do it better than him? That's kind of been my routine lately. Taking care of my body, make sure I'm on top of school, and on game day, giving it my all."
Besides every day watching film of himself and his upcoming opponent, Brown will get terminal knee extensions (TKE), a back extension, and a salt bath, ending with time in the cold tub. It's all done so Brown, as he said, "can be the best player I can for this team."
Just as he did at Saint Stephen's, and for Creneti. "The one thing people can't take away," Brown said, "is the level of coaching everybody received and the attention to detail Coach Creneti had on a weekly basis. We may have won games by 50 points, but he was still on our ass about the things we could have done better.
"I'm always going to be for Saint Stephen's. That's where I graduated from, and that's where the foundation was laid for what I'm doing today."
Being chased.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Collegiate running backs everywhere trying to chase down a Chase
