Royster fuels Penn St. on ground

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — A two-sport star in high school, Evan Royster was so good at lacrosse he had scholarship offers from national powers Johns Hopkins and Virginia.

He’s not too bad at his other sport, either.

Royster ended up dropping lacrosse and playing football at Penn State, where the second-year tailback has revved up the No. 3 Nittany Lions’ potent rushing game with 893 yards and 10 touchdowns on 116 carries this season — an eye-popping 7.7-yard average.

While Ohio State counterpart Chris “Beanie” Wells got the Heisman hype this preseason, Royster toiled in relative anonymity — even after a promising freshman campaign last year while backing up 1,000-yard rusher Rodney Kinlaw.

Now No. 22 is squarely in the sights of opposing defenses. Royster even has a growing fan club called “Blue Royster Cult.”

“He just came out of nowhere. Nobody really knew about him,” said Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, who will get an up-close look at Royster when undefeated Penn State (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten) visits the 10th-ranked Buckeyes (7-1, 4-0) on Saturday night.

“His speed is very deceptive. It helps him out. And he has great balance,” Jenkins said.

Royster might blush if he heard Jenkins’ praise. The even-keeled Royster isn’t much of a talker.

Receiver Derrick Williams is the confident senior captain. Daryll Clark (Ursuline High) is the cool and highly effective dual-threat quarterback. Center A.Q. Shipley provides muscle and comic relief.

They’re also all key components of a Spread HD offense that excels in the running game in large part because of the plethora of looks the offense can give opposing defenses.

The all-purpose Williams can run sweeps out of the backfield or end-arounds. Clark can sneak his way past defensive linemen on draws or create big gains rolling out of the pocket. Shipley and his fellow linemen are effective pulling in the open.

Then there’s the shifty Royster, who enjoys pounding it out between the tackles.

Coach Joe Paterno likes Royster’s vision, something the tailback has said has been helped by his experience on the lacrosse field. Shipley said he loves Royster because of the tailback’s propensity to fall forward when he finishes runs.

Pushing forward might sound like something instinctive for a running back, but Royster said he’s had to work on it throughout his career.

“It’s something that my coaches have stressed since I was young. Your body is two yards long. If you’re falling forward, that’s two yards per play, so it’s something that I’ve worked on my whole life.”