RMU's Russ named FCS National Offensive Player of the Week
By PSR Staff | Mon, 09/20/2010 - 16:31
Senior running back Myles Russ (Boca Raton, Fla. / West Boca) of the Robert Morris University football team was honored with a pair of weekly awards Monday, as in addition to being named the Northeast Conference Offensive Player of the Week he became the first Colonial in program history to be named the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) National Offensive Player of the Week by The Sports Network/Fathead.com.
In a 30-23 upset victory over No. 14/15 Liberty (9/18) at Joe Walton Stadium, Russ' 12-yard touchdown run with just 22 seconds to play helped lift the Colonials to the victory. On the afternoon Russ finished with 229 all-purpose yards, rushing 20 times for 153 yards (7.7 yards per carry) and two touchdowns while catching a pair of passes for 76 yards and a score.
The 5'8", 170-pound Russ helped give RMU an early 7-0 lead against the Flames when he hauled in a lob pass from sophomore quarterback Jeff Sinclair (Natrona Heights, Pa. / Highlands), broke a tackle and scampered 67 yards for a touchdown just 2:06 into the contest.
In the fourth quarter, after Liberty had taken its first lead of the game, 20-16, Russ capped a six-play, 78-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run to put Robert Morris back on top, 23-20, with 10:20 remaining. Liberty's Matt Bevins tied the game with just 1:19 to go in regulation with a 29-yard field goal, but Russ scored his third touchdown of the afternoon to help the Colonials seal the victory.
Russ posted his second straight 100-yard rushing game and 12th of his career against the Flames and through three games of the 2010 season has compiled 339 yards rushing on 58 attempts, an average of 5.8 yards per carry. He ranks second in the NEC in rushing (113.0 yards per game) and third in scoring with five touchdowns.
The active leading rusher in the NEC and third overall in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) with 3,247 career rushing yards, Russ is 601 yards shy of becoming RMU's all-time leading rusher. The current record of 3,847 yards is held by former running back and current Robert Morris assistant coach Sam Dorsett (1999-2003).
Led by Joe Walton, the only head coach in the 17-year history of the program, Robert Morris (2-1 / 1-0 NEC) returns to league play this week with a Noon kickoff against Wagner on Staten Island, N.Y., in a game that can be seen live on the MSG Network, Fox College Sports and PCNC in the Pittsburgh market.
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