SLIPPERY ROCK — Ryan Lauster sprints to the front of the pack and bellows, “Rocket.”

A teammate in the rear of a line of jogging players dashes to the front and calls out the same.

“Rocket.”

Slippery Rock High football practices can be grueling. There's a lot of running because first-year head football coach Travis Sarver wants his team to be the most conditioned team on the field in the fourth quarter.

Lauster, a senior wingback and safety, wants to make sure he is the first to finish and at the front for any line.

“It's the little things,” Lauster said. “Just saying something to get the guys going, leading in the sprints, hustling on and off the field. That's the little things that leaders do.”

Lauster learned those traits, he said, from some of the best, some former Rockets like his older brother, Travis Sarver, Colten Raabe, Jake Whitmer, Jared McDowell and Blake Heller.

“All those great leaders and upperclassmen,” Lauster said. “There were some great leaders in that older class.”

And now Lauster is trying to pick up where those guys left off for what is, in all intents and purposes, a young Slippery Rock team.

Junior quarterback Bailey Mertens has only started two games under center. The line consists of young players with senior Cody Lawniczak as the anchor. One of the fullbacks in the rotation, Seth Slater, is just a sophomore.

Lauster is one of the few starters who has seen extensive action in back-to-back 10-0 regular season campaigns.

“It makes our job as coaches easier to have a player like Ryan leading the way he does,” Sarver said. “Just having him around makes you a better coach. You can have something scheme-wise wrong, and he's going to make up for it because he's that type of player.”

There's no doubting the impact Lauster has made already this season on the field.

During preseason camp, Lauster was in competition with Mertens for the quarterback role, but was left at his familiar wingback position.

“I think my role right now just best suits us,” Lauster said. “Having Bailey running the quarterback position and I'm familiar with my position, I think it's the best fit for the team, for sure.”

Lauster, who as a sophomore averaged nearly 20 yards per carry and last season rushed for 531 yards, is leading Slippery Rock on the ground this season.

That's no small feat for the 5-foot-7 Lauster, who is one of many backs in the Rockets' option offense.

Lauster is well aware that on any given Friday night he may get as many as between 15 and 20 rushing attempts or as few as five to 10.

“Any running back likes to get the ball,” Lauster said, grinning, “but as this offense is, I could go off one week, and then Trent (Porter) could go off the next week and then Bailey the next. It's how this offense rolls and we all buy into it. We get happy when another guy rushes for 150. It's just what this program has grown into.”

Lauster has also flashed his ability on defense this season as a safety.

Last year, Lauster played cornerback, but this year he is free to use his tremendous speed to chase down ballcarriers and bat down passes.

Sarver was quick to point out how well-rounded Lauster is on the field.

“Wherever Ryan is at, he's going to be successful,” Sarver said. “You can describe Ryan as a football player. He's just a great football player. No matter what side of the ball he's on, he's going to be around the football. Like I said, he makes you a good coach.”