EJ Brownback: ‘He sees things a lot of linebackers don’t see’
MikeDragoSports.com Defensive Player of the Year
EJ Brownback made plays all over the field as a sophomore, leading Wilson in tackles, but the former running back had trouble getting his hands on the football. He recovered one fumble but played 13 games in 2024 without a single interception.
That stat took a rapid reversal this season. The junior linebacker intercepted a pass in Wilson’s second game, against Plymouth-Whitemarsh, and took it back 40 yards for a score. Two weeks later he had another Pick-6. And then a third in Week 5.
Suddenly, the ball was finding him. It wasn’t good fortune, or just a series of scatter-armed quarterbacks. It was the 5-11, 215-pound inside ’backer figuring out where the ball was going and getting there before opposing receivers could.
“He’s become a great reader of the quarterback’s eyes,” said Wilson defensive coordinator Ernie Wolber, “and he’s become so smart at understanding pass concepts. He understands where (receivers) are going and what they’re going to do when they get there.”
It’s same on run plays. Brownback made a team-high 117 tackles, 19 of them for losses, and always seemed to find a way to get to the ball, even when plays were blocked. He constantly found ways to slip through small cracks, get around blockers, and get his hands on the ballcarrier.
In a program known for developing a long series of top-shelf tacklers Brownback has become one of the best to wear a Bulldogs uniform.
“He’s a true ‘Mike’ linebacker,” Wilson coach Doug Dahms said of the MikeDragoSports.com Defensive Player of the Year. “He covers ground, he gets into tackles. He plays low, hits hard. He just has those instincts that you want in a linebacker.”
Wyomissing’s Tyler Niedrowski was MikeDragoSports.com Defensive Player of the Year last season. Previous picks include Wyomissing’s Ryker Jones, 2023; Exeter’s Lucas Palange, 2022; and Exeter’s Ty Yocum, 2021.
Brownback’s background as a wrestler, Wolber believes, has made him so good playing in the box, where space is tight and bodies are always flying at you. The discipline and toughness developed in wrestling are plusses but just as important, Wolber suggested, is the body control one learns on the mat.
“He shoots gaps, and shoots through people’s legs it seems, and makes tackles,” Wolber said. “He finds a way to turn his body in (certain) angles and make contact. He can get his body tweaked and torqued a certain way where he can still make great contact.”
Brownback tacked on about 20 pounds for his junior season and felt the difference. So did the guys on the bottom of the pile.
“I got knocked around like a pool noodle (last year),” he said. “Being a little bigger, a little faster helps me fly to the ball quicker. Knowing I’m one of the strongest guys out there, I was able to make plays that I might’ve got out-muscled (on) last year.”
Ethan Justice Brownback comes from good stock. His dad Ethan was a three-time All-American wrestler at Pitt-Johnstown; they often do strength-training together. His mother, Michelle, competed in soccer and track and field at Pitt-Johnstown, where she was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“She’s probably the best athlete in my family,” EJ said.
Brownback is dedicated not only to his sports, but to conditioning. He’s careful with his diet and stays away from unhealthy food.
“My wife (Jill) makes cookies (for the players) when we win,” Wolber said. “He won’t eat them. He and (All-State tight end) Mike (Glover) are very conscious of their bodies, and they just run like steam engines.”
It’s the part of the body above the neck, Wolber says, that separates Brownback from many good athletes. He understands Wilson’s oft-complex defensive alignments and strategies and executes his assignments quickly. He’s so astute that Wolber consults with him on game plans and will adjust things on a Friday night based on what Brownback is seeing in games.
Wolber, on Wilson’s staff more than a quarter-century, has done that with only two previous players: Safety Tom Larkin, who played more than 20 years ago, and linebacker Colton Weaver, an All-State linebacker in 2007 and 2008.
“He sees things that a lot of linebackers don’t see,” Wolber said of Brownback. “He has the mind of a college linebacker. He’s that good.”
Brownback is hearing from colleges at the FCS level. He’s faster than he might appear; he clocked a 4.65 in the 40 last summer at Kutztown University. He plans to do speed work in the offseason to inch a little closer to 4.60. If he does, Wolber has no doubt Division I offers will follow.
“He’s a goal-oriented guy,” Wolber said. “When he sets a goal, he usually attains it.”
Brownback’s goals for this past season were simple – and accomplished.
“I just leave it all on the field, which is always my main goal,” he said. “That, and playing for the guys — that’s always my No. 1 goal.”
Defensive Player of the Year finalists
- Logan Cammauf, Schuylkill Valley
- Justice Hardy, Wyomissing
- Greyson Miller, Twin Valley
- Lucas Myers, Twin Valley
- Tyler Niedrowski, Wyomissing
- Joel Ummarino, Exeter
- Faith Zudie, Berks Catholic
