Flash back to one of last summer's first scrimmages, when a true freshman first began to create the legend.
Here was Stephfon Green, fresh off his high school graduation, breaking a simple screen pass 80 yards against Penn State's defense.
"I thought he was a beast from Day 1," former Penn State cornerback Justin King, who watched that play from the sidelines, said in a phone interview yesterday. "I was like, man, that kid's got that 'it' factor. ... I've never seen that happen here."
Evan Royster, the team's leading returning rusher, returns. But if Green's productivity matches the hype, Green could see his share of time this season.
Another defensive back, Lydell Sargeant, has his story. Sargeant saw Green create big play after big play but was unconvinced it was anything more than Green just outrunning the defense.
That perception was thrown out the window the day Green ran a 4.2 in the 40-yard dash.
"We realized he's a legitimate 4.2 guy," Sargeant said. "Last year, he showed going against first and second teams he can do work against quality competition."
Sargeant flashed a wide smile when asked about Green and barely waited for the question to be finished before he started raving.
Not long before he spoke after Saturday's practice, he had seen another highlight. Green lined up behind quarterback Pat Devlin when a basic handoff off the right side of the offensive line turned into a dazzling run.
Green displayed his home run threat by busting loose for a 45-yard gain. He was hardly touched before Anthony Scirrotto tackled him from behind.
"He's got the speed to do just about anything," center A.Q. Shipley said.
Shipley didn't see much of Green last fall, but he heard all about him.
"All last year, Dan Connor was talking him up," he said. "He must have been doing something right."
So much so that Joe Paterno nearly considered burning Green's redshirt late in the season after Austin Scott was kicked off the team eight days before police charged him in connection to a rape of another Penn State student.
The redshirt stayed, but Green made an impression.
No wonder, given the eye-popping 14.8 yards per carry Green averaged during his senior year of high school in New York. He also scored a touchdown on 10 of his 50 carries.
"I like Stephfon," Paterno said Saturday. "I haven't seen enough of him in pressure situations. ... He can run, he's tough."
King was asked if he had seen another scout team player make an impression similar to Green.
"Never," he said.
