By Carlos Pineda
SouthernPigskin.com

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After rushing for more yards in a game this season than any Cardinals running back, Michael Dyer now has a chance to remain the starter the rest of the season.

Bobby Petrino noticed it during practice last week.

There was a big difference in the way Michael Dyer was running the ball. Dyer, a senior who has been plagued by nagging injuries since arriving last fall at Louisville x94 his third football team in three years x94 was going full speed and Cardinal coaches could see his quickness was back.

That’s why he got the start in last Saturday’s 30-18 win over NC State, only his second start in as many seasons. Dyer rushed 24 times for 173 yards, more than doubling his production for the season.

After rushing for more yards in a game this season than any Cardinals running back, he now has a chance to remain the starter the rest of the season.

“He really worked hard at it and then to be able to come out and have a great game is really good to see,” Petrino said after the NC State game.

Dyer missed the final six games of the 2013 season due to a groin and hip injury. He also missed the first three games this year because of a quadricep and thigh injury. Dyer entered the NC State game with 65 rushing yards on the season.

“I think he’s really battled the injury, and he’s worked hard at it. And It was frustrating for him,” added Petrino. “We tried to get him in there and get him some work in some of the games, but he just wasn’t himself. It’s great to see him come out and have success when it took him a long time, really, to get from it.”

Before playing at Louisville, Dyer was a star at Auburn, where he rushed for more than a 1,000 yards in both his freshman and sophomore years. In 2010, he helped the Tigers win the national championship. Dyer finished second on the team in rushing yards (1,093) behind Heisman winner Cam Newton, and broke the Auburn freshman rushing record of 829 yards set by Bo Jackson.

Dyer was named the MVP of 2011 BCS Title Game after rushing for a game-high 143 yards, including a 37-yard run and a 16-yard run that set up the winning field goal. His 37-yard run was captivating. After initially gaining six yards, Dyer landed on top of an Oregon defender that attempted to tackle him. After a moment of hesitation, Dyer started running again and gained another 31 yards down to the Oregon 23.

Despite leading Auburn with 1,242 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns his sophomore season, trouble pursued Dyer. In March 2011, a gun that belonged to him was used in an alleged armed robbery involving four former Auburn players.

Dyer was suspended in December 2011 for failing a drug test and missed the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Dyer transferred to Arkansas State in early 2012, but was dismissed from the team in July after it was revealed that a few months before he had been pulled over for going 96 mph in a 70 mph zone. A state trooper confiscated a gun and dumped marijuana found inside the car.

Dyer didn’t play football in 2012. Instead, he attended Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock, where he graduated with an associate’s degree.

A once promising star, Dyer wanted to play again.

Louisville gave him that chance.

“He’s excited to have an opportunity to resume his career,” Fitz Hill, the president of Arkansas Baptist College told USA Today in August 2013. “Many people doubted that Michael would ever make this comeback, and it’s here.”

While his junior year didn’t go the way he would’ve liked, his performance last Saturday against NC State x94 which included a 46-yard touchdown run with 44 seconds remaining x94 was a glimpse into Dyer’s impact on the field.

“Michael ran the ball great (Saturday night), big play,” said quarterback Will Gardner after the game. “He was explosive and I was excited. It’s good to watch him run like that and I was very proud of him.”