SLIPPERY ROCK - Rush for 2,546 yards and 35 touchdowns over the final two seasons of your high school career and there's a place for you in college football.

But as a strong safety?

Such is the case for Travis Sarver at Slippery Rock University.

A 2004 Slippery Rock High School graduate, Sarver hasn't played a football game since the Class AA Western Final in 2003, when he had 19 carries for 117 yards and two touchdowns in the Rockets' 28-15 loss to Aliquippa.

He was recruited by Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference schools SRU, Edinboro, Clarion and East Stroudsburg. Each wanted him as a strong safety.

"It doesn't matter to me," Sarver said. "If that's what gets me on the field, so be it."

Sarver played middle linebacker his final two years in high school. He was his team's starting safety as a sophomore.

As a running back, he gained 1,558 yards his senior year and scored 25 touchdowns, tying Josh Fiscus of Karns City for the Butler Eagle Scoring Trophy as the county's leading scorer.

"We know he can run the ball," SRU coach George Mihalik said. "When we recruited him, we told him we were going to try him at safety first. That's our need right now and that's where he's at this year.

"But we haven't totally discarded the idea of him being a running back just yet."

SRU plans to rotate four safeties this season. The team has one - Brandon Rakszawski - with prior collegiate playing experience.

Sarver is listed at No. 2 on the depth chart behind Rakszawski - in preseason.

"We've got 10 bodies working back there right now," Mihalik said. "Travis has as good a shot as anybody to get on the field.

"But like everybody else, he's gonna have to work at it to get there."

When The Rock reported to training camp a week ago, it was Sarver's first workout with the regular unit in a long time.

He red-shirted last year and suffered a high ankle sprain on the first day of spring practice this year, costing him all of spring camp.

"That really hurt him," defensive coordinator Jay Foster said. "Once you red-shirt, you don't do too much in practice. We were looking forward to working with Travis in spring camp, then it didn't happen. That ankle sprain put him behind."

But he's catching up quickly.

During Tuesday's practice, Sarver stepped in front of an intended receiver, but dropped the interception. Wednesday morning in practice, he made an interception.

"Though he dropped the one the other day, it was like a light went on in his head. It was like, 'I can do this,'" Foster said.

Sarver stands 5-foot-10, 195 pounds, and admits he's not the fastest player on the field.

"I need to work on my back-pedaling," he said, smiling. "I have to drop back deeper. The game is much faster now."

Mihalik said Sarver's intelligence makes up for any lack in speed.

"He's not the biggest guy, the strongest guy or the fastest guy, but Travis Sarver is a smart football player," the coach said. "He comes up and hits hard. He's aggressive and intelligent. That's what you want in a safety."

When it comes to playing safety instead of middle linebacker, Sarver doesn't see much difference.

"I'm still hitting people, I'm just moving farther back … and I have to read pass patterns," Sarver said.

Sarver was a PSAC scholar-athlete during the 2004-05 academic year. Mihalik sees that as a plus.

"The strong safety is the quarterback of the defense," Mihalik said. "He calls out plays and reads. Travis will be very good at that."

Sarver's goals are modest. He wants to get on the field this year, be a starter before he graduates and win a championship somewhere along the line.

He has been working with the punt coverage team and may get other special teams duty in camp.

"Make a big play on special teams and it can lead to other things," Sarver said. "If I work hard, good things will happen. I don't worry too much about goals.

"When I was growing up, Slippery Rock (University) was winning championships. I went to a lot of those games. I'm not sure what it's going to take to get back to that point, but I want to get there."

He may wind up being one of the leaders in making that happen.

"I like what I've seen of him so far," Foster said. "He needs to become a better tackler because the running backs are bigger in college, but that's part of the adjustment.

"I met with all the safeties on the first day of camp and told them the position was wide open. They'll have the opportunities to make plays, so go make them."

Sarver likes it that way.

"We're all young and we're all trying to get playing time," he said. "We're all in this together and that suits me just fine."