Penn State football head coach James Franklin awarded redshirt junior running back Nick Eury with a scholarship at his program’s banquet on Sunday night.

Eury has mostly served as a scout teamer throughout his time as a Nittany Lion, but he did get his time to shine at Beaver Stadium in the waning moments of Penn State’s 79-7 victory over Idaho on August 31. Eury, who hails from Shavertown, Pennsylvania, accumulated 44 yards on six carries in his only recorded appearance of the 2019 season.

The 5’9″, 212-pound back used his tough running style to bully Idaho’s defense en route to an eight-yard touchdown — the first of his career.

“To see Nick Eury score a touchdown and how our sideline reacted — I was a little worried that we were going to get penalties because guys were running on the field without helmets,” Franklin said immediately after the Idaho game.

Eury made his Penn State debut in the Nittany Lions’ big win over Georgia State in 2017 by recording one carry for four yards in the fourth quarter. He was named an academic All-Big Ten selection after the 2017 and 2018 seasons, and the conference chose him as one of its distinguished scholars in 2018. He was also recognized prior to Penn State’s senior day victory over Rutgers on November 30.

Surprise scholarship announcements are among the most wholesome moments in all of college sports, but Penn State hasn’t really had too many of those throughout the 2019 season. Wide receiver Isaac Lutz and offensive lineman Hunter Kelly were both put on scholarship during the team’s most recent spring session, and fellow wideout Dan Chisena got his surprise scholarship announcement during the 2019 Blue-White game.