By Frank Rajkowski, SJU Writer/Video Producer

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Henry Trost may look a little different this season.

But the Saint John's senior running back is still putting up familiar results.

Trost, who rushed for 411 yards and 13 touchdowns as part of the three-running back rotation the Johnnies used in en route to advancing to the NCAA Division III national semifinals in 2019, has taken over the team's primary ball-carrying duties in the early going this season.

And he started off strong in a 39-33 season-opening victory over then-No. 23 Aurora (Ill.) on Sept. 4, carrying the ball 22 times for 148 yards and two touchdowns.

"Henry really made some big runs," Saint John's coach Gary Fasching '81 said. "Our offensive line provided the holes. But he made some huge plays, especially down near the goal line. 

"He was a big difference for us when it came to winning that game."

Especially considering the Johnnies' offense was breaking in a new starting quarterback in sophomore Aaron Syverson, a transfer from Division I Colorado State, and was replacing four of five starters from 2019 on the offensive line.

But Trost's efforts were even more impressive when you consider that he now weighs in at close to 210 pounds – up from the 183 pounds he said he weighed two years ago, the last time SJU played a competitive season.

"We knew Kai (Barber) and Kenneth (Udoibok), (who shared the rushing duties with him in 2019), were going to be gone, and that I was probably going to see more carries," he said. "Gary and I talked about putting on more weight so that I'd be better able to withstand taking a lot of hits."

Trost managed to put in the extra weight without sacrificing any speed. In fact, Fasching said he's actually gotten a little quicker. He improved his preseason 40-yard dash time from 4.84 seconds in 2019 to 4.73 this year.

"That's always the concern when a guy puts on weight," Fasching said. "You don't want to see them lose any speed and quickness. But Henry is every bit as quick as he was in 2019. And now he's gotten stronger as well."

"He's the guy coming back at that position with the most experience. So we knew he'd probably be carrying a little more of the load this season, especially early on."

And Trost said he is OK with that, although he was quick to point out that the Johnnies still possess a lot of depth in the running back corps.

That includes guys like 5-foot-9, 200-pound senior Devin Vouk, who transferred from nearby Division II St. Cloud State when that school dropped its program and carried the ball seven times for 46 yards and a touchdown in the win over Aurora.

"I don't mind (being the primary back), but we have other guys like Devin and (sophomores) Troy (Feddema) and Tony (Underwood) who are all capable of making big plays too. 

"We have a lot of talented running backs on this team."

But the running game still starts with Trost, a global business leadership major who maintains a 3.86 GPA and has twice been named both Academic All-MIAC and CoSIDA Academic All-District. 

The Chisago Lakes (Minn.) High School graduate, who played quarterback at the prep level, interned this past summer at Turnkey Corrections, a River Falls, Wis.-based software/hardware company that provides jails and law enforcement facilities with commissary and communications solutions.

"That was great because I got to do a lot of different things," said Trost, who enjoys fishing, hiking and other outdoor activities, and whose taste in music leans toward classic rock bands of the 1980s (think AC/DC and Mötley Crüe).

"I was able to focus on a lot of different areas of the business."

Trost eventually hopes to pursue a career as an operations manager for a business. He could graduate this May, but an NCAA ruling granting athletes an extra year of eligibility because of the impact of COVID, would also allow him to return for another season next fall.

"I'm still deciding what I want to do there," he said. "That's a decision I'll have to make at the end of this season."

For now, he is squarely focused on helping SJU advance as far as possible this fall.

"Our goals are the same as they always are here – win a conference championship and contend for a national title," he said. "I'm a team-orientated guy, and anything I can do to help us win, I'm up for it."