In the neighborhood they compare him to Myles Gaskin, the best running back O'Dea High School ever produced, the guy who ran for 5,323 yards and 57 touchdowns as a four-year starter for the Huskies, now with the Miami Dolphins.
Like Gaskin, Jason Brown is 5-10, 205, with exceptional vision, power and balance. He's a one-cut-and-go back with good speed at 4.47 in the 40 and an explosive 38.5-inch vertical.
Earlier this week he announced a final three of Michigan State, Washington and the Ducks, just a couple of days after Oregon running backs coach Carlos Locklyn told the press gaggle, "I don't recruit--I EVALUATE and DEVELOP."
With Brown, the right kind of development could take him all the way to the early rounds of the NFL draft, even with all that analytics scuttlebutt about devaluing the position. Oregon running backs learn to demonstrate value. Kenjon Barner has three Super Bowl rings.
The exceptional ones often discover early that there's a responsibility that comes with giftedness. They learn how to handle the attention and present themselves. A medal winner in national track meets in grade school, Jason started elite football training at age 13, working with Ford Sports Performance of Bellevue, lifting weights, running cones, summer 7on7, even playing on a spring travel team that plays games against all-star competition from Hawaii, Oregon and Southern California.
In that environment he learned interview skills and a business mindset. Brown has offers from Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, Washington, many others. Alabama wide receivers coach Holmon Wiggins flew to Seattle to extend his offer.
He's visited Louisville, the Spartans and USC and was one of the standouts at Oregon's Saturday Night Live event. This spring he earned invitations to both the All-American Bowl and the Polynesian Bowl.
As a junior he rushed for over 1600 yards and 21 touchdowns. He told Chad Simmons of On3 Sports, “My top three schools are Michigan State, Oregon and Washington. It will be one of those three schools. I am still thinking about it and weighing the pros and cons. I like all three schools and I am working to figure out which is not only the best football, but successful life after football too.”
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