Zion BrownMarcus BenjaminSat, December 20, 2025 at 1:22 AM UTC·2 min readMIAMI, Fla. — State championship games are the final opportunities for many seniors to show their potential.
For 2026 Cardinal Newman (West Palm Beach) defensive end Zion Brown, last week’s 17-14 victory in the state championship game over Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood) was the last opportunity to show coaches that he can play on the college level.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBrown tallied two tackles (one solo) and also added a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in the state title win. The transfer from Palm Beach Gardens had two ankle injuries that cut his junior year short.
“The first one I suffered during the spring, going into my junior year, and the second Champ Monds fell on my other ankle. But everything’s healed now. I’m better than ever. My ankles have more flexible movement than I ever had before. It allows me to bend, play low, and be a dog.”
The 6-foot-4, 245-pounder has the ideal size to be a productive edge on the FBS level, but has not received the recruitment attention that he might deserve.
“I think a lot of people slept on me because I had an injury my junior year, so it was definitely something I had to overcome mentally, but I wasn’t going to let it stop me. I just knew transferring here was the right decision for me mentally.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBrown has offers from Mississippi Valley State, Rhode Island, Tennessee State, and Wofford, and expects more ahead of signing day in February.
“I’m just waiting, keeping my recruitment open. Hopefully, I’ll be signing in February. I just love football, I just want to play.”
Brown is looking forward to showing his leadership abilities on the next level.
“I’ll bring power and leadership. I love to lead. I love having that pressure on my back. It builds my character.”
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