Blue White Illustrated

Once buried on the depth chart, sophomore Zach Zwinak is a 1,000-yard rusher GRAND CENTRAL LORI SHONTZ | B L U E WH I T E C O N T R I B U T O R In the end, Zach Zwinak's legs just gave out. After 36 carries – a career high, dating back to youth-league football – and when he carried the ball in overtime and kept his legs churn- ing as usual, trying for a few more yards, they just stopped. "It was a lot of carries," he said. "I guess they were done." But he wasn't complaining, he quickly clarified. It wasn't too many carries. "Nah, never too many carries," Zwinak said. He grinned. "Not enough water." And it turned out to be enough car- ries to get Zwinak to exactly 1,000 yards. He became the 14th Penn State running back to reach the milestone, and his total ranks him No. 23 on the all-time season list. Not bad for someone who started the season as the fourth-string running back and, in the second game of the season, carried two times – for 3 yards. "It means a lot, but it's just a num- ber," Zwinak said. "Today was all about giving all that we had for the seniors." In Zwinak's case, that meant carry- ing the offense for long stretches of the game. He carried the ball on 10 of Penn State's first 15 plays (and caught a pass on one of the other five), and continued to hit the holes opened by Penn State's offensive line – upon whom, in the tradition of most running backs, he heaped praise. He ended with 179 yards, the most anyone gained against the Badgers this season. (The previous high: 107 by Nebraska's Taylor Martinez.) And he gained more than Wisconsin star Montee Ball, who set an NCAA record with his 79th touchdown and finished with 111 yards. "The thing about Zwinak, he really has a lot of pride in the yards he gets," center Matt Stankiewitch said. "He'll come back to the huddle and say, 'Get me to the safety – I'll just run him over. … I'm just gonna follow you.' Then on the next play, he just nails the safety. The safety's out, just lying there. Man, this guy's crazy. "He's a character, but the thing about him is his pride. How much he wants to run the football is second to none. I never [have seen] someone who wants to run the football more than he does." Zwinak isn't much of a character during postgame interviews. He smiles a lot, and he occasionally blushes (less than he did earlier in the season), and he repeats himself a lot. The key phrase after this game: "I just wanted to do what the team needed. That's been the goal all around. It was never yards, carries, touchdowns. Just whatever this team needs." At first, it was just a few carries. Then it was spelling the starter, Bill Belton, gaining 100 yards or more twice, and coming just 6 yards short against Temple, the first game in which he saw significant time. He N O V E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 2 4 ZZ TOP Zwinak dives over offensive tackle Donovan Smith en route to a first-quarter touchdown. Steve Manuel started the last four games, gaining more than 100 yards each time. The only knock on Zwinak has been his tendency to fumble, and that nearly came into play against the Badgers. He carried for 24 yards to open a drive midway through the third quarter, and the ball came out as he hit the ground. It wasn't ruled a fumble, but the play was reviewed. "I was little scared, because, you know, the reviews have been ques- tionable lately this year," Zwinak said. "I thought I was down; I hit the ground pretty hard on that play, and I think that's why it popped out. I wasn't sure what they saw." It's possible that other teams have seen enough from Zwinak that he'll receive attention from those that are looking for a strong running back, but he said he's not planning to transfer. "I came to a decision to stay this year, and that was a decision to stay through the end," he said. "I'm not going to stay one-and-done. I made the commitment, and I'm going to fin- ish it out." B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M

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