Greg Schiano sees Samuel Brown as progressing: ‘He’s getting back to his old self
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Samuel Brown V hasn’t seen the number of carries that he had last year, but the Rutgers football running back appears to be getting close to his old self.
With Kyle Monangai forced to leave Saturday’s game at Iowa with an injury, there might be more reps available for the likes of Brown this Saturday at Penn State.
Brown, who was shelved the second half of the season with his own injury, has slowly been ramped up this season by the coaching staff. Part of the reason why is because of the emergence of Monangai, who is the Big Ten’s leading rusher.
A former four-star running back recruit of Philadelphia, Brown could be poised for a bigger role with two games left in the regular season and then a bowl game for Rutgers.
“I think he’s getting better every day out there, he really is,” head coach Greg Schiano said on Wednesday after practice.
“He missed a long time. So it might not be real-time like, ‘If I missed this much, it takes this much to get ready.
“But there is some equivalency there. I think he’s just going to play more and more as we go. He’s getting back to his old self.”
Brown has 134 rushing yards on 40 carries with two touchdowns this season. Last season, he had 434 rushing yards and two touchdowns as well as averaging 4.3 yards per carry.
Aaron Young, a veteran running back, could also see some more carries this week. Schiano praised Young’s return from his own injuries last season.
“I’m really pleased -he is such an unselfish team guy,” Schiano said.
“That whatever he gets, he does it to the very best of his ability. He’s done some really good things. We’ll expand his role too.”
