SAN BERNARDINO — Elusive bruiser.
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Aquinas junior running back Champ Brown became a YouTube sensation as a 7-year-old youth football player and now is the top rusher for the Falcons in San Bernardino on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
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Aquinas junior running back Champ Brown became a YouTube sensation as a 7-year-old youth football player and now is the top rusher for the Falcons in San Bernardino on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
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That label probably qualifies as an oxymoron, but it truly is the best way to describe Aquinas High School junior running back Champ Brown.
Standing 5-foot-6 and 185 pounds, Brown is built like a wrecking ball but still possesses enough speed to outrun opposing defenders when necessary, Brown enters Friday evening’s home game against San Jacinto having rushed for 498 yards on 50 carries while scoring a team-high nine touchdowns.
“He came in as a freshman and started doing great things right away,” Falcons coach Jordan Brusig said. “That really forced us to find ways to get the ball in his hands. His ability to get positive yards is amazing. Last year, he was the first running back we’ve had who didn’t have a single negative-yard run.”
Brown is far from a breakout star, however. He was a YouTube sensation at 7, when videos emerged of his intense workout routines and highlight-reel runs while playing for the OG Ducks youth football program. Brown earned the nickname “Baby Zeke,” a reference to former NFL running back Ezekiel Elliott.
“Those were some amazing days,” Brown said of his celebrity status. “We would go to Florida every year, and kids my age wanted to take pictures with me. And it still continues to this day. There are people who come to games asking ‘Where is Champ Brown? … Stuff like that really makes me feel good.”
Carries were not always easy to come by during Brown’s freshman year. Aquinas had an established running back in Jusyis “JoJo” Solis (4,772 career yards for the Falcons), but Brown managed to run for 527 yards on 65 carries and score seven touchdowns. That impressed the coaching staff enough to hand Brown the RB1 label entering his sophomore season. Solis, now playing at Sacramento State, found himself lining up more as a receiver that season.
“We had to find a way to put Champ in positions to be successful. That was something he had earned,” Brusig said. “He was prepared for that moment.”
Brown currently wears the No. 22 jersey because of Emmitt Smith, the NFL Hall of Famer who set numerous records while playing for the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals. However, it is another former NFL star running back, Maurice Jones-Drew, that leaps to mind when catching a glimpse of Brown. Jones-Drew also was built low to the ground (5-foot-7, 210 pounds) and used a combination of power and speed to be a two-time All-Pro in the NFL.
“I’ve always called myself an elusive bruiser,” Brown said. “I can make the moves but also run somebody over if there isn’t very much space around me.”
Brown also is a proven workhorse inside the Aquinas weight room. Brusig said the running back can squat 500 pounds and bench press 300 pounds.
“You don’t see those kinds of numbers from many running backs,” Brusig said. “And that kind of strength is what makes him extremely hard to tackle. You have to try to match his pad level, and even then it’s tough to get him down on the ground. He is constantly working hard to improve his speed. That’s the one piece of the puzzle that can make him a truly elite running back. But as he continues to show every day, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to be that.”
Brown rewarded the coaching staff’s decision by rushing for 1,212 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. And he is off to another phenomenal start this year. Brown ran the ball only five times against Notre Dame last week, but he racked up 257 yards (51.4 yards per carry) and scored four touchdowns.
“I felt really explosive and fast on every run,” Brown said of that performance. “The O-line did a great job giving me all of that space to run through.”
Brown’s first name is Javon but said he prefers to go by his middle name.
“Everyone has been calling me Champ since I was little kid, even my parents,” he said. “And I think it just goes very well with my play out on the field.”
Brusig is excited about the future, especially knowing Champ’s younger brother soon will be wearing an Aquinas jersey.
“He comes from an outstanding family who supports him,” Brusig said. “I’m really happy that they are going to become a legacy family here at Aquinas.”
