Illinois Football: Chase Brown stacking up accolades early in 2022

It has only been one week but Illinois football running back Chase Brown is already impressing the college football world.

Week zero proved to be good for the Illini, as the program moved to 1-0 on the season. Wyoming didn’t prove to be much of a threat to the Orange and Blue. A 17-3 halftime lead turned into a 38-6 thumping by the good guys.

There was a lot to love about the victory, but the standout performer was Brown. He would finish the game with 19 carries for 151 yards and two touchdowns. To go along with his great showing on the ground, Brown would also have three receptions for 16 yards and another score.

This was a great encore performance from Brown’s 2021 campaign where he rushed for 1,005 yards, had 142 receiving yards, and combined for five touchdowns. The nation took notice of Brown’s great week zero performance.

Illinois football running back Chase Brown earned early season accolades.

Brown’s performance on Saturday against Wyoming was one for the ages. In fact, his 151 rushing yards were the most by any Illinois player in an opening game of a season since 1945. No. 2 on the list is Pierre Thomas back in 2004 when he rushed for 143 yards.

Not only did Brown do something that Illinois fans today have never seen before, but he also earned the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honor and the Reese’s Senior Bowl Offensive Player of the Week honor.

Something tells me these aren’t the only awards Brown will win during the 2022 campaign. The star running back has all of the talent in the world, and he continues to get better each season.

Brown’s 151 yards against Wyoming was the third-most of his career – he eclipsed the 200-yard mark against Penn State and Charlotte in 2021. His 7.9 yards per carry against the Cowboys was also his third-highest in a game during his career when he carries the ball at least 10 times.

The career of Brown is like a fine wine, it gets better with time. I know it is early, and this was just Wyoming, but Brown could easily etch his name on the top 10 single-season rushing yardage record for the Illinois football program. All he needs is 1,085 yards.

I will take this a step further, though. I think there is a chance Brown not only gets into the top 10, but I think he could take the No. 1 spot from Mikel Leshoure. Leshoure rushed for 1,697 yards in 2010. After the Wyoming game, Brown just needs to average 140.5 yards per game to hit that mark. It will be tough, but I don’t think it is impossible.