Patience is hard to come by for a guy who just wants to go.
So Stephfon Green is tapping into the Penn State vault to watch how some of the school's best tailbacks waited for the holes to open, then burst through them downfield.
Green watches film of former running backs Ki-Jana Carter, Curtis Enis, Larry Johnson and Tony Hunt to become a more complete tailback that doesn't just depend on speed to move the chains.
"Getting two to three to four yards and then, bam. A home-run play will come," Green said. "I'm just focused on ball movement, time of possession and getting the key first downs. If the hole opens up, then I can hit it and go."
Coach Joe Paterno said Green used to think he could just outrun everybody.
Now, offensive coordinator Galen Hall is getting him to read blocks or hit the crack inside and go.
"If I'm having a lousy practice, he's not afraid to get in my face and tell me what I need to do," Green said about Hall. "When it comes from a coach who coaches Emmitt Smith and coaches at Florida and Oklahoma, it's a big motivation. You know what the man's talking about."
On Green's 52-yard touchdown run at Illinois last Saturday, Green's started toward the outside, then cut back inside while right guard Lou Eliades finished his block.
Staying outside would've brought the cornerback and safety into position to make the tackle. By cutting inside, Green's speed allowed him to run past the safety into the open field.
It was one of the few times this season Green looked decisive when running the football. Paterno said Green had been hesitant because of minor injuries. But Green said his slow start to the season was more with how defenses played the run than regaining confidence in the right ankle he had surgery on following the Rose Bowl, which caused him to miss spring practice.
He suffered a bruised rib at Illinois but is ready to go for Saturday's game against Eastern Illinois, where he hopes he and Evan Royster keep the run game moving in the right direction.
Green, who had perhaps his best day on the ground in his Penn State career, would still be OK if Saturday's performance didn't earn him more carries.
He trusts the coaching staff's decision to balance the carries he and Royster get, and if that's a handful, he'll make the most of his opportunity.
"We're not individuals," Green said. "This is not Tailback U. This is Penn State University. This is a team."
