Ten Big Game Changers: Penn State RB Evan Royster

CHICAGO - Penn State running back Evan Royster studies opposing running backs nearly as much as his team's defenders.

Consider his quip about Alabama's tandem of Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson.

"I've got to say their two running backs were pretty unbelievable," Royster said. "The fact that they can make that many plays is pretty impressive."

Or his thoughts on Wisconsin running back John Clay, the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.

"He's made me drop my jaw a couple of times," Royster said. "He's a really impressive runner."

It may seem odd that a two-time all-Big Ten running back would hold his contemporaries in such high esteem. Royster, however, gauges his interest in opposing running backs as one would in a university class. He studies them.

"I love watching other guys because it gives you the opportunity to kind of put your game against their's and just kind of learn from it," he said. "You see what they can do in certain situations and maybe think about what you might have done. It's something that helps you develop as a player."

Royster, a fifth-year senior, briefly considered turning pro at the end of last season. He stayed in Orlando after the Capital One Bowl to assess his options. He said he never received his paperwork from the NFL advisory board, which informs underclassmen of their likely selection round in the NFL draft. So he chose to stay for his senior season.

Now he has a chance to own school records in career rushing yards and touchdowns. Royster needs 481 yards to pass Curt Warner as Penn State's all-time rushing leader. Royster has rushed for 2,918 yards and 23 touchdowns at Penn State, 15 TDs shy of tying Lydell Mitchell for the all-time mark.

Royster, a 22-year-old Fairfax, Va., native, was a second-team all-Big Ten selection in 2008, when helped lead the Nittany Lions to the Rose Bowl. He was a first-team pick last year, pacing Penn State to an 11-win season and had six 100-yard rushing games.

"There are some great tailbacks in the conference," Royster said. "There's been a lot of history in the Big Ten when it comes to running backs. To be one of those guys who hopefully will kind of be put in the same category as some of the history is exciting."

Royster's role will change this year, his third as the starter. Penn State graduated two-year starting quarterback Daryll Clark, and the team will focus more on the running game. Royster bulked up by five pounds and now weighs 218 to prepare for the extra carries.

"That extra weight will help me throw my weight around a little bit more and help me take a little bit more of a beating," he said.

PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS 

• 2009 record: 11-2 overall, 6-2 Big Ten (beat LSU 19-17 in Capital One Bowl) 
• 2009 review: Penn State was stout enough defensively to pound most of its opponents into submission. The Nittany Lions ranked first in scoring defense and third nationally, allowing just 12.2 points a game. Only twice did Penn State allow more than 20 points in a game. But in those games, the Nittany Lions' offense was held to a combined 17 points in losses to Iowa and Ohio State. 
• 2010 ranking: No. 14 USA Today/Coaches Poll
• 2010 schedule: S4 Youngstown State; S11 at Alabama; S18 Kent State; S25 Temple; O2 at Iowa; O9 Illinois; O23 at Minnesota; O30 Michigan; N6 Northwestern; N13 at Ohio State; N20 at Indiana (Landover, Md.); N27 Michigan State 
• 2010 preview: The defense lost six starters, including high NFL draft picks Jared Odrick, LB Navorro Bowman and LB Sean Lee. Gone are the team's top three tacklers and the entire linebacking corp. Offensively, Penn State loses QB Daryll Clark, who earned co-Big Ten MVP honors last year. Clark completed nearly 61 percent of his passes for 3,003 yards and 24 TDs last year. But Penn State does return senior RB Evan Royster, now a three-year starter. Royster ran for 1,169 yardsat 5.7 yards per carry and six scores last year. The Nittany Lions also return perhaps the Big Ten's best offensive lineman in Stefen Wisniewski. Kevin Newsome is slated to replace Clark. 
• Making the rounds: Penn State ventured outside its regional non-conference scheduling realm and will play at defending champion Alabama. It might have been a better match-up last year or next year. The Nittany Lions face Big Ten favorites Ohio State and Iowa on the road and do not play Wisconsin this year. Another road game -- Indiana -- was moved to the Washington, D.C. area, which will give Penn State a virtual home-field advantage.
• Bowl game if: Penn State will make a bowl, but its defense and quarterback play will determine the location.
• Home for the holidays if: Injuries decimate the team and if Newsome plays poorly.
• Quotable: "What did Mark Twain say, the rumor of my death has been overexaggerated or something, I forget." -- 83-year-old Coach Joe Paterno
• Prediction: 8-4 overall, 5-3 Big Ten (Outback Bowl)