Evan Royster

About Evan Royster

Evan Royster is a starting running back for Joe Paterno's 2008 Penn State Nittany Lions football team. Royster takes over the starter's position from the departed Rodney Kinlaw. Since he redshirted his freshman season, Royster is an academic junior with sophomore eligibility. Royster graduated from Westfield High School in Chantilly, Virginia in 2005. He was recruited by Division I universities in football and lacrosse but turned down scholarship offers to play for lacrosse powers such as the Virginia Cavaliers and the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays. Since choosing football over lacrosse, Royster has quickly risen to the top of Penn State's depth chart and hopes to follow in the Penn State football tradition of successful tailbacks such as Curt Warner, D. J. Dozier, and Ki-Jana Carter.

Evan Royster was redshirted during his freshmen year at Penn State. Royster, recruited out of Virginia, chose Penn State over other NCAA Division programs across the country like the Virgina Tech Hokies, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the Florida Gators and the Maryland Terrapins.

Royster made his college football debut on September 1, 2007 against the FIU Golden Panthers. He played a significant role in the Penn State offense for the 2007 season. He was the second leading rusher behind, Rodney Kinlaw, rushing for 513 yards on 82 carries for a 5.3 yards per carry average. He scored the game-winning touchdown in the third quarter of the 2007 Alamo Bowl against the Texas A&M Aggies.