Brown, Addae excel as hybrid of runner, receiver

Antonio Brown has the look of a running back with the ball in his hands.

But he caught nearly 200 passes the last two seasons as a wide receiver.

Brown’s emergence the last two years has created mismatches on the field. Brown has been used as a hybrid of running back and wide receiver.

CMU, a spread offense team, has found innovative ways to utilize talent in its system.

“In order to do that, you have to have individuals that can come in, and not only possess good speed, but have the ability to make somebody miss with bubble screens and things like that,” said coach Butch Jones. “I think we really, really upgraded our team when you look at the Malek Redd(s) and the Jahleel Addae(s) and Tim Phillips and Cody Wilson(s) and those types of individuals.

“So it becomes a space game and it becomes a matchup game, so it’s critical in our offense.”

Brown, a junior, frequently lines up in the backfield, but rushed just 30 times in two seasons. The 5-foot-10-inch receiver caught 93 passes last year, scoring seven receiving touchdowns.

A threat on the ground and receiving, Brown also can be used as a throwing weapon in select situations. Brown threw a touchdown pass last season in the team’s win against Western Michigan.

Despite his success on the filed, Brown’s main goal is to keep everything in perspective.

“I just want to stay focused and stay humble,” Brown said.

Runner to receiver

This season, the team started to transition redshirt freshman Jahleel Addae to a similar position.

“I’ve just been working hard and trying to learn the receiver position,” Addae said.

Addae came to CMU initially as a running back. He ran for almost 1,500 yards as a senior at Riverview High School in Valrico, Fla.

“We’re going to use his running knowledge to our advantage,” said wide receiver coach Zach Azzanni.

He also said there will be many times when Addae and Brown are used at the same time.