PASADENA, Calif. — Ji’Ayir Brown finished his Penn State football career Monday night with the kind of effort he made throughout the 2022 season.
It was a performance that might be expected from someone named to an All-American or All-Big Ten first team.
Brown, though, was mostly snubbed when it came to postseason awards. He earned the Rose Bowl Defensive MVP award and helped lead the Nittany Lions to a 35-21 victory over Utah.
Brown, who’s from Trenton, N.J., made a team-high eight tackles, including 1.5 for losses, and an interception, his fourth of the season.
“We have a great defense that’s led by Tig (Brown),” Penn State coach James Franklin said, “who I think is the best safety in college football. I don’t think there’s enough people talking about this guy.”
Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz used Brown in a variety of places, in the secondary, at linebacker and even on the defensive line. He finished as the Lions’ leading tackler.
Brown, who also played at Lackawanna Junior College, has said many times how much he’s indebted to the Penn State program and Franklin. He said it again Monday night.
“Coach has been a blessing to me,” Brown said. “He took me in. He’s made me a part of this family. As a player, that’s all you can ask for, a coach to treat you like how he treats his kids.
“The only way I could give back to Coach was to win him a Rose Bowl, win him a championship. I sacrificed everything I possibly could to make that happen for him. I hope I made him smile.”
Roses galore: Penn State cornerback Kalen King dreamed about playing in the Rose Bowl while growing up in Detroit. His favorite player was Michigan’s Charles Woodson, the 1997 Heisman Trophy winner who helped the Wolverines beat Washington State 25 years ago in the Rose Bowl.
King always has remembered Woodson holding a rose in his mouth that night. He walked off the field with a few dozen roses more than Woodson had.
“It’s a great feeling,” King said. “For us to actually win the game and for me to get an interception is crazy. I had to get more than one rose. I saw a plate of them and just grabbed them.”
King stopped Utah’s second drive in the first quarter when he intercepted Cam Rising’s pass to Devaughn Vele at the Penn State 18-yard line.
“As I was falling asleep this week, I was always playing the game in my head,” he said. “Of course I envisioned an interception. I trusted what I saw and made a play.”
Mocking celebration: Penn State wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith caught an 88-yard touchdown pass from Sean Clifford in the fourth quarter and then limped, grabbing his hamstring.
Lambert-Smith apparently was mocking Utah punter Jack Bouwmeester, who crashed to the ground after a Penn State player perhaps grazed him late in the third quarter and then was helped off the field.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Clifford said when asked about Lambert-Smith.
Franklin, though, didn’t seem pleased.
“I wanted to kill him,” Franklin said, “because (cornerbacks coach) Terry Smith said on the headset to me that he thought KeAndre pulled his hamstring.”
Lambert-Smith’s catch was the longest TD reception in Rose Bowl history, surpassing Michigan quarterback Rick Leach’s 76-yard TD pass to Curt Stephenson against Washington in 1978.
“It feels great, man,” Lambert-Smith said. “I know what I can do. You all are just finding out.”
Injury report: Penn State safety Jaylen Reed left the game in the first half with an arm or shoulder injury and did not return. Reed returned to the field in street clothes wearing a sling.
In addition, left tackle Olu Fashanu missed his fifth consecutive game with an undisclosed injury. Running back Keyvone Lee was expected to be available after missing the second half of the season with an undisclosed injury, but he did not play.
Caedan Wallace, who missed the last five games because of an undisclosed injury, replaced Bryce Effner at right tackle in the first half and finished there.
