Brown wins Cornish Trophy as NCAA Football’s top Canadian
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University of Illinois running back Chase Brown is the unanimous winner of the 2022 Jon Cornish Trophy as the top Canadian player in NCAA Football.
A native of London, Ont., Brown was the leading Power Five conference rusher with 1,643 yards in 12 games for the Fighting Illini. He finished second overall in NCAA rushing yards to the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s DeWayne McBride (1,713 yards).
Ohio Bobcats quarterback Kurtis Rourke of Oakville, Ont., finished second in voting conducted by the Cornish Trophy Committee, while Chase’s brother, Illinois teammate and defensive back Sydney Brown, was third.
Brown, a junior in 2022, rushed for his second consecutive 1,000-yard season and was a Doak Walker Award finalist as one of the top three running backs in American college football. He was also a Senior Bowl All-American, a member of the All-Big Ten second team and is the top-ranked Canadian prospect in the CFL Scouting Bureau.
“I prepared the same way each week with the same mentality where I was looking for ways to exploit defences, along with that [focusing] on my recovery (he injured his right leg in a loss to Purdue on Nov. 12) and making sure that I was at 100 per cent for game day,” Brown said in a news release.
In addition to his impressive rushing total, Brown averaged 5.0 yards per carry, tallied 13 total touchdowns and added 240 yards receiving to help lead Illinois to an 8-4 record. He and his team will take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa on Jan. 2, after which Brown will decide between declaring for the NFL Draft or returning to college for his senior season.
“The NFL has been my dream since I started playing football as a kid. I’m grateful that I'm in a position where the NFL is an option, but coming back to Illinois would not hurt me. It would be another year of preparation, another year to be ready for the NFL,” Brown said of his looming decision.
“Chase your dreams no matter how big or unusual they sound. When I was pushing just to play in college, people looked at me sideways when I said I wanted to play in the NFL. So, make the most of your opportunities.”
Brown said one of the highlights from his time in Urbana, Ill. was playing alongside his brother, now a senior.
“It’s been an unbelievable opportunity to share this season with him. The experiences we went through together and leaving college with a degree with my brother, It’s something I’m forever grateful for. He showed exactly what he needed to be considered one of the best DBs from Canada,” Chase said.
First awarded in 2017, quarterback Nathan Rourke (Oakville, Ont.) of the Ohio Bobcats took home the first two Cornish Trophies that year and in 2018. Carolina Panthers running back and former Oklahoma State Cowboy Chuba Hubbard (Sherwood Park, Alta.) won the award in 2019 and John Metchie III (Brampton, Ont.) of the Alabama Crimson Tide and currently of the Houston Texans won the previous two years.
The trophy is on permanent display at the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in Hamilton.