As the Penn State football team broke the huddle for the first snap of the game against Temple, none other than Michael Robinson was in the backfield.

After a week of Joe Paterno and others saying how much Ricky Upton had improved, the fifth-year senior was nowhere to be found.

Like many others I was excited to see what Robinson could do as the Nittany Lions' running back. On his first carry I wasn't very impressed as he took the toss and rushed right for a yard. But I knew he had the capability for making the big play.

Early in the fourth quarter, he made that big play breaking a 53-yard run down the right sideline. And if he didn't stumble making his last cut, he could have gone the distance.

But the most important thing to remember about Robinson's performance against Temple is this: he's not a running back.

Yes, he can spell your starting tailback 10 to 15 times a game. He can be used sparingly just to keep the defense on their toes, like he was used against the Owls, but Robinson isn't the going to be the guy that replaces Larry Johnson. Nor should he be.

On top of that, he doesn't even want to be that guy. When asked if he was going to be the featured back this season, he quickly replied, "hopefully not."

Not even a career-high 84 yards will change the feeling that Robinson is so much more valuable playing quarterback, wide receiver, running back and punt returner.

Questioned what he position he liked to play? Robinson said, "quarterback, and receiver."

Never did he mention running back.

With Robinson not a viable option, the three-ringed circus also known as running back by committee need not be the solution.

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno tried this two years ago, and it was an experiment gone horribly wrong.

The Lions had two-year starter Eric McCoo, an inexperienced Johnson and Omar Easy, and the plan was to split the carries between them all.

It doesn't work, as it's too hard for any one of them to get into a flow since once a back gets going, he's on his way out. This was quite apparent as Johnson led the team in rushing with just 337 yards. McCoo followed him closely with 299 yards and Easy had 196. This was as putrid a running attack that Penn State ever had, and Paterno knows it.

The solution is simple, but it's something that Paterno hasn't been known to do throughout his career -- start a true freshman. He has started a few freshman running backs, including D.J. Dozier, Curtis Enis and McCoo.

Start Austin Scott.

This choice would end all the speculation and give Scott four years to play for the Lions, if, of course, he doesn't decide to leave early.

The freshman from Parkland High School in Allentown showed glimpses of greatness against Temple. It started with his very first collegiate carry when he broke an arm tackle in the backfield and sidestepped another defender before being brought down after a five-yard gain.

In his first game, Scott didn't run scared and continued moving his feet forward.

Temple's safety Lawrence Wade said it best, "he's a hard, hard, runner."

The fluidness in the way he ran, and little wasted motion allowed for him to stand out from the pack.

There appears to be no after-effects from his knee injury that forced him to miss much of his junior season at Parkland. Last season he put any and all worries about his knee to rest, rushing for 3,853 yards and 53 touchdowns.

Robinson said Scott was a humble kid, who is doing everything he can to learn the system. He's certainly not the same type of running back that Larry Johnson was last year, but the humble kid from Allentown is exactly what the Lions' offense needs.