For many college football players, the road to recovery is never easy after a major injury. So when sophomore running back Cam Wallace went down with injury as a sophomore, no one knew when or how he would return. After all, breaking both of your ankles is something that should sideline you for a while. And yet, yesterday against Purdue, Wallace may have awakened the most dormant aspect of Penn State's running game. In a game they had to have coming out of the bye, Wallace ran 22 times for 135 yards and a touchdown, completing one of the sport's best redemption arcs.
This came as a bit of a surprise considering Wallace only made appearances in four games, three of which were the non-conference games to start the season. In fact, over the last
three weeks before the Nittany Lions' bye, Wallace didn't even take a snap, leaving many to wonder if he would even feature in the backfield again. But perhaps this game came at a perfect time considering the continued injury woes for the wide receiver group. Both Chase Sowell and Koby Howard went from being questionable to unavailable and it left a big hole in the offense. It must have felt like fate for Wallace to have as big a game as he did.
"It means everything, man," Wallace said of his performance, according to Lions247. "Every day since I've been back on that football field, I've just been taking advantage of every opportunity I've had and just thanking the guys that have been with me through everything that I've been through. … I've just been putting my foot down, working every day, just waiting on my opportunity, and then when my number's called I'm ready to go."
Sometimes, the work Wallace put in had to be done simply to walk again, with various teammates sometimes having to help him with easy tasks. As he watched guys like Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen become all-time great running backs for the program, he simply bided his time.
Head coach Matt Campbell must have been looking for a formula for the run game after a rough start to the season and to find it in Cam Wallace was a special moment.
"You got to earn the right to play, and Cam did," coach Matt Campbell said. "Cam had an incredible two weeks. He has continued to stay the course, and how he's practiced has earned the right to go in and not just play, but obviously take advantage of this opportunity, and that's what I'm really excited about."
Hopefully, Wallace can carry over that performance and become an integral part of this offense down the stretch.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State RB takes his chance against Purdue
