Body Zone Physical Therapy Defensive Player of the Week: Wilson’s EJ Brownback

By Mike Drago Last updated Sep 8, 2024

Wilson’s EJ Brownback will tackle anything in front of him except maybe a Snickers bar or slice of apple pie.

The sophomore linebacker is disciplined when it comes to his food intake; he maintains a healthy diet to stay fit and trim for wrestling and football.

He’s pretty disciplined on the football field, too. That’s how he worked his way into the Bulldogs’ starting lineup as a sophomore and how he earned the Body Zone Physical Therapy Defensive Player of the Week honors.

“He’s a true ‘Mike’ linebacker,” said Wilson coach Doug Dahms. “He covers ground, he gets into tackles He plays low, hits hard.”

Brownback did plenty of that in the Bulldogs’ 21-7 win over Plymouth-Whitemarsh Friday when he had a team-high 11 tackles, including 4 ½ for loss.

“He was just reading and plugging so fast, he was making tackles in the backfield,” Dahms said. “They were trying to run counter. He did a really nice job reading it and recognizing it and filling the open holes.”

Brownback is a big reason the Bulldogs held Plymouth-Whitemarsh to 93 rushing yards on 30 carries. The Colonials trailed by three touchdowns before they scored with 4:42 remaining.

A week earlier, Wilson surrendered just 15 yards on 18 rushing attempts in a 28-20 win over Cheltenham.

Defense is a big reason the Bulldogs are off to a 2-0 start. They’re allowing just 54 rushing yards per game, tops in Section 1 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League and No. 5 overall in the 37-team league. They are allowing 2.2 yards per carry.

“Our goal is just to punish people,” Brownback said. “Our D-line, they were doing great. For as big as (Plymouth-Whitemarsh’s) O-line was, (our defensive line) was getting so much penetration, making the linebacker’s job really easy tonight, which was a huge blessing.”

Brownback was brought up last season as a freshman. Dahms and his staff saw something special in the way he plays. He’s listed at 5-11, 195, but Dahms believes he’s a good 10-plus pounds more than that right now.

Brownback wrestled at 189 as a freshman, helping the Bulldogs win the BCIAA team title and the South Central Class 3A championship. He went 36-27, finished fourth in the BCIAA Tournament, third at sectionals, and sixth at regionals. He’ll likely move up a weight class and wrestle at 215 this season.

Dahms knew during offseason drills that Brownback would win a job at middle linebacker and be one of the keys to the defense.

“We kind of knew he was gonna be a good linebacker, and he’s living up to that,” Dahms said. “He just has those instincts that you want in a linebacker.”

Brownback is the first Wilson player selected for Defensive Player of the Week since 2022 when Nate Capitano and Nick Weitzel were each selected. Cam Jones was selected once in 2021.

Players considered for Body Zone Physical Therapy Defensive Player of the Week honors are nominated by their coaches or by members of the MikeDragoSports.com coverage team.

This is the fourth consecutive year that Body Zone Physical Therapy is sponsoring the Defensive Player of the Week. At the end of the season a Defensive Player of the Year will be named.

Also nominated this week:

Palmer Reber, Berks Catholic
Mason Gechter, Conrad Weiser
Jayden Salata, Daniel Boone
Joel Ummarino, Exeter
Jason Petion, Fleetwood
Reese Hohl, Gov. Mifflin
Astian Reppert, Hamburg
Cooper Hohenadel, Schuylkill Valley
Brendan Yagle, Twin Valley

Selected in 2023 as Defensive Player of the Week:

Week 1: Lucas Myers, Twin Valley
Week 2: Michael Odeyemi, Reading High
Week 3: Stewie Janowski, Gov. Mifflin
Week 4: Ryker Jones, Wyomissing
Week 5: Ethan Lafferty, Kutztown
Week 6: Luke Spotts, Schuylkill Valley
Week 7: Colby Crills, Schuylkill Valley
Week 8: Luke Impellizzeri, Berks Catholic
Week 9: Logan Cammauf, Schuylkill Valley
Week 10: Justice Hardy, Wyomissing
Week 11: Dominic Giuffre, Schuylkill Valley
Week 12: Collin Niedrowski, Wyomissing

Selected in 2022 as Defensive Player of the Week:

Week 1: Jonathan Martin, Exeter
Week 2: Nate Capitano, Wilson
Week 3: Ethan Kryman, Daniel Boone
Week 4: Nate Pashley, Exeter
Week 5: Nafis Blythe, Berks Catholic
Week 6: Nick Weitzel, Wilson
Week 7: Ryker Jones, Wyomissing
Week 8: Drew Eisenhower, Wyomissing
Week 9: Mason Marks, Twin Valley
Week 10: Lucas Palange, Exeter
Week 11: Mason Semmel, Hamburg
Week 12: Ryker Jones, Wyomissing

Selected in 2021 as Defensive Player of the Week:

Week 1: Brett Organtini, LB, Conrad Weiser
Week 2: Eden Johnson, S, Gov. Mifflin
Week 3: Josiah Jordan, CB, Berks Catholic
Week 4: Matt Kramer, LB, Wyomissing
Week 5: Ryan Souder, LB, Daniel Boone
Week 6: Nevin Carter, CB, Wyomissing
Week 7: Nate Goodman, DE, Gov. Mifflin
Week 8: Sam Orzolek, T, Exeter
Week 9: Cam Jones, CB, Wilson
Week 10: Aaron Shuker, LB, Muhlenberg
Week 11: Mitchell Watt, DE, Hamburg
Week 12: Tyler Givens, DE, Berks Catholic
Week 13: Jack Miller, LB, Wyomissing
Week 14: Ty Yocum, Exeter