One of the encouraging developments early on for the University of Washington football team against Penn State, and there weren't many, was running back Jayden Limar.

He drew the starting assignment, becoming the third different player to open at that Husky position this season following the injured Quaid Carr and freshman Brian Bonner.

The 5-foot-10, 200-pound Limar began his afternoon with a 15-yard burst up the middle on the UW's second play from scrimmage, offering a physical style of running long absent in Montlake this season.

The Oregon transfer rushed for 36 yards on the opening offensive series and finished with 66 yards on 9 carries, plus he caught 2 passes for 11 yards in the 28-25 defeat to the Nittany Lions at Husky Stadium.

The Huskies (5-4 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) would have liked for him to be more involved, yet he was making just his third appearance of the season, limited by a dislocated elbow that sat him down for two months.

"It was just a matter of we can't give Jayden 60 plays coming off an injury," UW coach Jedd Fisch said.

Instead, Limar played maybe half that, giving the UW a boost whenever he could. In the second quarter, he popped a 17-yard gain up the middle in putting the Huskies in position for Tyler Robles' 31-yard field goal to pull the Huskies within 21-6.

"Jayden's a really good player," Fisch said of the four-year runner originally from Lake Stevens, Washington. "He's mature."

Counting Limar, the Huskies actually have had five different starting running backs over their past 12 games over two seasons.

Last season, then sophomore Adam Mohammed started in the 48-14 victory over UCLA, with senior Jonah Coleman coming back from an injury and opening the final two games against Oregon and Boise State in the LA Bowl. Mohammed now plays for UCLA, Coleman for the NFL's Denver Broncos.

Redshirt freshman Quaid Carr started this season opener against Washington State, but was lost for the season with a hand injury, getting hurt in the same game as Limar.

Freshman Brian Bonner Jr. then opened the next seven games until Limar took the field as the starter against Penn State.

Mix in third-year back Jordan Washington, who was the starter for spring ball until he suffered a season-ending neck injury, and that's six backs who have rotated in and out as the No. 1 guy.

Consequently, the UW rushing attack has suffered at times with so much turnover. Limar could enable the Huskies to solve some of those issues down the stretch.

"We ran the ball better today," Fisch said. "We felt very balanced. We were able to move the ball."