Penn State running back Evan Royster, finally healthy, is bouncing back
When Evan Royster entered this season, he was often considered one of the best running backs in the Big Ten and perhaps, one of the elite in the country.
Things, though, haven’t been easy for the junior this year. His offensive line is new. He battled the flu. And his numbers have understandably dropped from a season ago.
“I feel great now,” Royster said. “I was pretty sick earlier in the season but I’m not going to use it as an excuse for not running as well as I could of. I mean, I feel more confident in our offense as a whole so that maybe has something to do with it..”
It seems, though, as Royster is finally returning to form. He rushed for 137 yards against Minnesota last week and his numbers aren’t completely off. He’s still averaging 5.8 yards a carry and has run for 641 yards, an average of 91.6 yards a game.
He game Saturday was the best Penn State has run the ball this year.
“We put up some pretty good numbers,” Royster said. “Moved the ball pretty steadily on them.”
It was a season ago against Michigan when he had a career game, running for 174 yards and a score as Penn State beat Michigan for the first time since 1996.
From that game, he’s improved. The refurbished Penn State line has helped to teach him patience running the ball, waiting for holes to open up for him.
“He’s probably a little bit of a tougher runner inside,” Paterno said. “He’s always been a very smart runner. He’s got patience. He reads blocking well and knows when to accelerate. But he’s gotten trapped a couple times this year where he’s gotten four, five yards gains where he might not have done that a couple years, even last year.”
Penn State has also tried to move Royster around more to get him the ball. Paterno said they’ve moved the Virginian outside to try and free him up in open spaces. He’s caught eight passes for 144 yards and a touchdown, an average of 14.2 yards a reception.
“Not only can he run, but he’s got great ball skills and he blocks,” Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said. “You’re going to see him playing on Sundays as well.”
Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.
Comments
cxa236
Sat, Nov 7, 2009 : 6:12 p.m.
"...running as well as I could of." Not to point out further grammatical errors, but why don't we try proper English: "...running as well as I could HAVE." Ugh...it pains me to read some of the stuff out there. And before anyone criticizes my grammar in this comment, I should point out that THIS ISN'T MY CAREER!!! I would HAVE edited this before submitting it if it was! lol
UMFAN22
Fri, Oct 23, 2009 : 10:43 a.m.
Hey Mike you better go get youself a white jersey to wear on Saturday! Find a NEW JOB!!
MichFan4BorW
Thu, Oct 22, 2009 : 11:46 p.m.
Tater, feel free to correct my sentences also if you wish. I'm curious of the changes you'd make. thanks.
MichFan4BorW
Thu, Oct 22, 2009 : 11:44 p.m.
you might make a good point tater except you forget one relevant fact. Rothstein makes A LIVING for his writing; I don't make a living posting comments. If I did, I might give it more effort. Great observation though. No really.
azwolverine
Thu, Oct 22, 2009 : 10:34 p.m.
tater, You often get under my skin with your criticism of Lloyd Carr, but I agree with you on this one.
MichFan4BorW
Thu, Oct 22, 2009 : 7:10 p.m.
Michael Rothstein, You have to clean up your writing a bit. "It seems, though, as Royster is finally returning to form." You didn't give us a clearly understandable sentence. I'm not going to give you a better sentence unless you request that of me though. Bottom line: As the newspapers die, I've noticed poor grammar and writing in MUCH of the reporting I read online. If this is the best "online writers" can come up with, I hope someone creates an online "newspaper" that actually has MORE than ONE set of eyes looking at a piece before it goes out. I'm just saying...
MichFan4BorW
Thu, Oct 22, 2009 : 7:09 p.m.
Michael Rothstein, You have to clean up your writing a bit. "It seems, though, as Royster is finally returning to form." You didn't give us a clearly understandable sentence. I'm not going to give you a better sentence unless you request that of me though. Bottom line: As the newspapers die, I've noticed poor grammar and writing in MUCH of the reporting I read online. If this is the best "online writers" can come up with, I hope someone creates an online "newspaper" that actually has MORE than ONE set of eyes looking at a piece before it goes out. I'm just saying...