Tag: Eric McCoo

A surprising name leads Penn State’s all-time leading rushers

Who is Penn State’s all-time leading rusher? It may not be who first think of.

Penn State has had a large amount of notable running backs step foot on Beaver Stadium’s grass, including several college hall of fame players. Of those notable men, none of them are actually the all-time leading rusher in the program’s history.

Names like [autotag]Larry Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Saquon Barkley[/autotag], and [autotag]Curt Warner[/autotag] are names you expect to see but none of them lead the list. Leading the list is a running back who was more than reliable during his tenure. Speaking of reliability, Penn State has strayed away from the run game but recent recruiting points to that aspect of the game making a grand return.

For the time being, while [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] decides what he wants to do with the offense, we can just hope that [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] joins this list one day. Until then, take some time to jump in the way-back machine in Penn State history.

Penn State’s all-time leading rushers in Nittany Lions history

Where does Saquon Barkley rank among Penn State’s all-time leading rushers, including Franco Harris, Lydell Mitchell, and Ki-Jana Carter?

Maybe Penn State doesn’t have as strong a case to be made for Running Back U as some other programs, but the Nittany Lions have had their fair share of some of the best running backs in the game. From Lydell Mitchell to Franco Harris to Ki-Jana Carter and to Saquon Barkley, Penn State running backs have provided plenty of memories to fans over the years.

But who tops the list when it comes to Penn State’s all-time leading rushers list? Perhaps one of the more unassuming names to come through Happy Valley, Evan Royster. Royster may not have had the talent and skills of some of the others to suit up for the Nittany Lions over time, but his hard work and reliable performance stood the test of time. And having the opportunity to break into the offense early on and play his full four years of eligibility helped him continue to climb the ranks of Penn State’s all-time leading rushers.

With three 1,000-yard seasons, it has proven to be difficult to catch Royster, but his mark may not be untouchable. Saquon Barkley came close to catching Royster and would have easily surpassed him had Barkley remained at Penn State for one more season of eligibility instead of heading to the NFL. But as things stand now, Royster should feel pretty comfortable atop the leaderboard for a little while longer before anyone makes a run at his school record.

Here is a look at Penn State’s top 20 all-time leading rushers.

All data is credited to College Football Reference. This list will be updated accordingly.

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