Rutgers-Newark Athletics

As it turns out, the sport of football's loss was a gain for the Rutgers-Newark track and field program and in particular, junior javelin thrower Eriq Royal.
 
You see, Royal was a standout cornerback at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, having played there for two seasons after graduating from Columbia High School in Maplewood, N.J.
 
But Royal wasn't able to stay at Lincoln. Family finances prevented him from remaining at the school.
 
Almost at the same time, Royal's mother got a job at Rutgers-Newark, so that made it easier for Royal to transfer there.
 
"I also wanted to be closer to home," Royal said. "But my Mom getting the job there helped."

Royal was not only a fine football player at Lincoln, he also threw the javelin and won the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) championship and broke the school record at Lincoln that stood for almost 70 years, throwing 54.75 meters (178 feet). Royal broke the school record by almost eight full feet.
 
And there was another slice of irony in Royal's transfer to R-N: The Scarlet Raiders' head track and field coach Juan Edney is an alumnus of Lincoln and is a member of the school's Athletic Hall of Fame (LU Class of 1990, Hall of Fame Class 2016) for his prowess as an athlete at Lincoln.
 
"I played in the Hall of Fame Game that Coach Edney was honored at," Royal said. "I didn't know him at the time."
 
So when Royal was thinking about transferring to R-N, Lincoln head coach Quanette Ford suggested Royal give Edney a call.
 
"She told me to go and talk to him," Royal said.
 
"I met him and he fit in right away," Edney said. "It was like he was home."
 
"When I walked into his office, we just connected," Royal said. "Coach Edney is so inviting. It felt like home. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have tried track and field here. I just would have gone to school. But since he was a Lincoln alum, we had that connection. I figured this would be a good place to finish my athletic career."
 
However, Rutgers-Newark doesn't offer football, so Royal's grid career came to a sudden end.

"I was a little bit upset about that, because I love football," Royal said. "I've been playing football since fifth grade. But once I realized I could go to Rutgers-Newark for free (with his mother's employment) and being close to home with my family, then it was okay with me."
 
Royal missed all of the fall semester, electing to work as a delivery driver for Amazon.
 
"After I figured out that I was not going back to Lincoln, I just stopped working out," Royal said.
 
"So I was completely out of shape when I started back at Rutgers-Newark. Coach Edney had to work to get me back into shape."
 
"He basically taught himself how to throw the javelin," Edney said. "His form wasn't great. He didn't know how to bend his elbow. He had to do all of that on his own without a full year of training. It was a team effort training him."

Assistant coach Aziza Ahmed, the throwing coach, along with his new teammates worked with Royal to get him back into throwing shape.
 
"He has that fiery attitude that I like," Edney said. "He's done whatever I ask of him. He's been working hard to get into shape. He's run the 200 (meter dash) and the 400 (meter run) as well and did pretty well. We were lucky to get a kid who had the heart of a lion. If I asked him to do something, he'd do it."

So the seeds were planted this spring for what Royal can do in the future, which is attempting to do the decathlon, the grueling 10-event competition that is not for the weak hearted.
 
"He's a very solid, great kid," Edney said. "I think he can do it. He's respectful of others. He's honest and he's dedicated. He's been a great addition to our program."
 
"I think I can do it," Royal said. "I'm already running. I did the 400 (meter) hurdles in high school. I can learn how to throw the shot if I work with Ed (R-N champion shot put thrower Edward Dennerlein, who just recently competed in the NCAA Division III National Championships at the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse). Ed is one of the guys who welcomed me to the team. I'm excited to compete in it and I think I can be very competitive in it."
 
Royal is a graphic design major at Rutgers-Newark. He hopefully wants to do designs for branding and advertising, creating logos for companies.
 
"That's what I want to do," Royal said. "I've applied to a few internships and I hope I get one in the field."
 
While Royal will miss playing football, he couldn't be happier with his decision to transfer to R-N and join the Scarlet Raiders' track team.
 
"It's been a perfect fit," Royal said. "I'm doing great. It's almost too good to be true."
 
However, there's only one slight problem in joining the Scarlet Raiders. Edney requires all athletes to run cross country in the fall to remain in top condition. Yes, Eriq, that's five miles a day, maybe more.
 
"I didn't know I had to do cross country," Royal said. "When he told me, I asked, 'Are you serious?' That's going to be a challenge for me. I never had to do cross country before."

But Erik Royal has never been one to back down to a challenge – and he's not about to start now.