21 offensive recruits to know for ‘21: No. 2 RB Cody Brown

21 for ‘21: Cody Brown

Continuing our 21 for ‘21 series on the offensive side of the ball is a running back from the peach state that could be Tennessee’s best opportunity to land a top 10 ranked ball carrier in a recruiting class in years. Tennessee has been looking for bigger, stronger and more powerful backs to complement the smaller, faster all purpose backs they’ve used for a while now, going back to the previous coaching staff. They already have one of these All-Purpose players committed in Elijah Howard, and the top player on the board they’ll be looking to pair him with is Parkviews Cody Brown.

Cody Brown is a 6’0, 210lb running back from Lilburn, Georgia, a town about half an hour northwest of Atlanta. He plays for Parkview HS, is ranked as a 4-Star recruit and a top 10 player at his position universally by all sites. Some Tennessee fans may already be familiar with Brown already, as they probably watched him in the Georgia 7A semifinals against current Tennessee QB Harrison Bailey and Marietta. Parkview ended up losing that game 42-31, but Brown still managed to put up a solid performance with 197 yards and 2 TDs, averaging 8 yards per carry. But for Brown, that’s a normal game, as he finished this past season with 1676 yards and 20 TDs on 214 carries, averaging 7.8 yards per carry which is some insane stats for Georgia 7A football. (All stats from
Maxpreps.)

Brown is that successful as a running back in one of the toughest divisions of High School football in the entire country because he’s already built and plays like an SEC running back. You can tell in his film that he plays with a ton of aggression, running through defenders and fighting for the extra yards on every down. He is known for his power but has the ability to make cuts and outrun defenders to the end zone despite not having what would be considered elite track speed. The first guy that comes to mind when you watch his film is former Georgia RB Nick Chubb, as they’re very similar in running style and frame when coming out of high school. Safe to say that he’ll be one of the best Running backs in the country wherever he decides to go to school.

Tennessee is very much in the recruitment, as he’s been to campus a couple of times this past season and before that. They offered back in April of 2019, joining teams such as Georgia, Auburn, LSU, South Carolina and Florida. But another team that could make things really interesting if they offer is Clemson, as Brown's brother is already signed to play baseball there. It looks like this recruitment will likely come down to the wire late in the year as Brown has not set a commitment date or really scheduled any official visits. However, it looks like Tennessee is very much a threat here and will be in it until he signs.

One factor I think that could change this is who Tennessee hires at Running Backs coach, as David Johnson will be at Florida State next season. If they make a good hire, that should only help their chances in landing either Brown or another top running back in this class. But as of right now, it looks like the staff’s best opportunity to land a highly ranked RB recruit is right here.