Former Penn State football running back Journey Brown will join former Penn State head coach James Franklin as part of the Virginia Tech staff, he announced on Instagram on Sunday.

Brown played for the Nittany Lions in 2018 and 2019 before medically retiring from football in November of 2020 due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that results in the muscle wall becoming thick and stiff.

After his shortened career playing college football, Brown found a new life in a NASCAR pit crew, operating the air gun and changing tires.

He has also since advocated for increased EKG and ECG screenings in youth athletes, the same test that ultimately led to Alex Manske’s open heart surgery this offseason.

While it’s unclear what exact role Brown will hold with the Hokies, the now 27-year-old will undoubtedly relish the opportunity to get back into the sport he loves.

He may not be steamrolling defenders into the end zone of AT&T Stadium anymore as he did in the 2019 Cotton Bowl, but being back on the sidelines with his former head coach is perhaps the next best thing in Brown’s young career.