By RayJaun Stelly, The Seattle Medium
Standing 5’10 and 194 pounds, O’Dea Fighting Irish running back Jason Brown, Jr. is a force to be reckoned with. The class of 2024 student-athlete is a nightmare for opponents in the Metro League and all-across the state. Emerging on the scene after an explosive sophomore year, Brown earned All-Metro honors and led his team to the 3A state championship quarterfinals where they lost to Kennewick. With his successful sophomore campaign, Brown went from being a local football recruit to the national spotlight.
Before becoming the number one ranked running back in Washington by 247sports, most are unaware that prior to his freshman year at O’Dea, Brown was seen as a cornerback. Receiving the keys to the offense as a freshman, which isn’t common for the Fighting Irish program unless you’re an undeniable special talent, Brown took full advantage of the opportunity and received 11 scholarship offers, with seven of them coming from Pac-12 schools, in the process.
Projected as a ‘Power-5 Starter’ with comparisons to former O’Dea standout Myles Gaskin, 247sports National Recruiting Editor Brandon Huffman stated in his scouting report that Brown is “ranked as one of the premier athletes, he plays primarily as a running back. Brown is a tough runner, with a strong lower base that allows him to keep his balance and stay on his feet after initial contact.”
With high praise coming from recruiting experts, Brown received scholarship offers from Washington, Washington State, Utah, USC, Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Texas A&M, and Florida State after Brown’s first year of high school football.
While Brown is both explosive and productive with the ball in his hands, he remains focused on the basic fundamentals of the game.
“My individual mindset is to move the chains, hold on to the ball and move the chains,” says Brown. “The mindset [from a team perspective] is to win, just win football games, we have tons of playmakers that can make big plays.”
Heading into year two, Brown was named to MaxPreps Preseason Sophomore All-American team, and with such notoriety, he became the focal point of his opponents game plan. Even with the defensive schemes and overall gameplan from O’Dea’s opponents focusing on Brown, he led the Fighting Irish to a 8-3 overall record and 4-1 in league standings.
Although the Fighting Irish had a good regular season, they’d make a deep post season run before losing by a touchdown in the elite eight of last year’s 3A state tournament. As the leader offensively, whether he scored a touchdown, gained big yards, or blocked for a teammate Brown’s stellar play was recognized and earned him honors on the All-Metro First Team Offense, All-Metro Offensive Most Valuable Player, and MaxPreps Sophomore All-American Second Team Offense.
Now with an electric sophomore season in the rearview mirror, Brown received scholarship offers from Boise State, Alabama, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Penn State after the season, putting the total number of offers for the four-star running back to 18.
In preparation for his junior year, Brown visited TCU, UCLA, and USC in the spring, on top of training and playing 11v11 football with the Ford Sports Performance program. He was also invited to play in the 2024 All-American Bowl in San Antonio once his high school career was over, and was named a MaxPreps Preseason All-American for the second straight year in a row.
Despite numerous colleges making their best pitches to gain a commitment from him this early, Brown says that his options are wide open.
“For all the schools that are interested, my recruitment is 150% open,” says Brown. “I’m nowhere near making a decision, if a school is interested in recruiting me, I will totally be interested in them.”
O’Dea kicked off the 2022-23 season against 4A opponent Bothell, and with the Fighting Irish down 13-0 in the first half Brown provided a much-needed spark in his teams’ 21-13 comeback victory. Brown would outscore the Cougars by himself with a 25-yard rushing touchdown and a 70-yard rushing touchdown on the night.
With an impressive start to his junior season, Brown is focused on helping his team win and vying for a state championship.
