Countdown to IUFB Kickoff: 50 Days (Joshua Brown)

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

#50

The Hoosier Huddle Countdown has reached the halfway point! That’s right, our countdown is half over and there are now only 50 days remaining until the Hoosiers take the field for Tom Allen’s first full season and battle the Ohio State Buckeyes. Today’s countdown article focuses on a walk-on defensive lineman with impressive credentials on, and off, the football field.  

Joshua Brown

-Height: 6’0”

-Weight: 260 pounds

-Hometown: Hillsborough, NJ (Hillsborough High School)

-Position: Defensive Line

There are times while doing research for these countdown pieces that I wonder what in the world I was doing during my high school career? I accomplished some things but some of the players on the IU roster serve as a reminder that I was quite the underachiever in comparison. One of those impressive players is defensive lineman Joshua Brown. The redshirt sophomore from Hillsborough, Michigan excelled in football, track and field and, most impressively, in the classroom.

Brown was a first team all-state and all-conference selection at Hillsborough High School and he lettered in his final three years. He also lettered and performed well at the shot put on Hillsborough’s track and field team. Despite these time-consuming pursuits, Joshua Brown did well enough academically to earn rare direct admittance into IU’s prestigious Kelley School of Business.

He came to IU’s football program during the 2015 season and walked-on, redshirting the 2015 campaign. He did not see any game action in 2016 but he was the scout team player of the week for the Maryland game and his academic excellence has carried over to IU as he earned Academic All-Big Ten honors. Brown is not likely to see the field in 2017 as a member of the defensive line rotation. The Hoosiers have quite a bit of depth at the position now and Brown is just not that big for a high-major lineman. That being said, he will continue to be a valuable practice team member and he clearly has a very bright future off of the field.

Please share any comments or thoughts in the comments section or in our message board. The countdown continues each and every day so make sure to check Hoosier Huddle daily as we churn towards the 2017 season!