July 15, 2009

At first, Nate Eachus wasn't expecting much from his freshman year at Colgate.

He never could have guessed that he would end up as the Patriot League Rookie of the Year for the Raiders, who won the conference championship by going 5-0 in the league, 9-3 overall.

Eachus, a two-time Reading Eagle Big School All-Anthracite running back for Hazleton, was content to wait his turn to play and be an understudy to established upperclassmen during the 2008 season.

It's the same routine plenty of college football players go through as freshmen.

He basically sat out the season's first five weeks, in which the team went 3-2.

Eachus was playing behind three-time All-American running back Jordan Scott, a senior.

"He was a veteran that was getting NFL looks," Eachus said. "He was a great leader. I really didn't expect to play that much. I got some carries and played a little defense in the first part the season."

Unfortunately for Colgate, Scott was injured during the team's Week 7 game against Cornell.

Eachus got the call to replace Scott in the lineup and rushed for 241 yards on 37 carries and scored three touchdowns in Colgate's 38-22 victory Oct. 18.

For the complete article by John O'Connor of The Reading Eagle click here