Brandon Beachum can't help but feel lucky.
And, no, it's not because he's seen his fair share of carries in recent weeks.
"I thank my lucky stars every day for Evan [Royster]," Beachum said during his Tuesday conference call. "I've never been around that kind of talent, so for me to have him in front of me helping me through practice and helping me through games with different looks, it really helps out a lot."
Royster, who ranks second in the Big Ten in rushing yards per game with 95.4, has topped the century mark in three straight games after doing it just once in the first four games.
Despite the surge in his numbers lately, Royster didn't know if this was the most consistent he's been at Penn State. Instead, his improving numbers come down to the entire offense finding consistency.
"I feel like I need to come out and perform every week," Royster said. "It's not all on me, whether or not I play well or not. We've had a consistent couple weeks as a whole offense, so it's hard to just judge one player."
But the numbers do tell a story, as the Nittany Lions are 11-0 when Royster tops 100 yards in his career.
This weekend will be a big challenge, however. Ohio State hasn't allowed a 100-yard rusher since USC's Joe McKnight ran for 105 yards on Sept. 13, 2008. In his lone start against Ohio State, Royster ran for 77 yards last season but didn't register a touchdown.
This season, Royster has dealt with a mostly inexperienced offensive line at the start of the campaign and has seen the depth behind him take a hit with an ankle injury to Stephfon Green. That injury has prompted Royster to lose punt return duties out of cautionary reasons, the running back said.
When it comes to helping out Beachum and Brent Carter, Roy-ster said most of the advice he gives is about the little things, like pushing up an extra yard when a route could be short of the first down.
"I have complete confidence in Beachum and Carter," Royster said. "It's not that they need to know that they're in a little bit of a bigger role. It's just the little things that they need to learn."
Head coach Joe Paterno said that although Royster isn't the fastest guy in the conference, he takes advantage of the opportunities he gets.
In other words, if there's a hole at the line, he'll find it and break through for a gain.
Plus, with the offensive line getting more acclimated, it seems those cracks at the line of scrimmage are coming more frequently.
"I think that Royster is certainly a big-league tailback," Paterno said. "I think he's proven that over a couple of years. Again, I'm reluctant to start comparing him to this guy or that guy or something like that, but I think Rosyter is a very, very -- he does a great job for us."
