FOXBORO, Mass. - We knew going into Friday night's second preseason game that Henry Josey would probably get plenty of carries, thanks to three sidelined running backs. What we didn't know, after a summer of non-tackling practice and a zero-carry first game for the rookie, was how impressive Josey would be when he got his chance.

Eighty-three total yards on nine touches later, and one dive into the end zone, Josey is now firmly on the radar of his teammates, coaches and Eagles fans. Josey's most impressive play of the night had to be the touchdown, when he took a screen pass from Matt Barkley, scampered along the sideline and then made a few defenders miss before jumping in for the score.

"I don't even know how I actually got in," Josey said after the game. "I was trying to set up that one guy, then I ended up sneaking up under the guy and being able to get through and up the sideline."

"He got an opportunity because we were so short, depleted at running back," said offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. "I thought he made the most of it. It was a nice score on the screen play. He had a few nice runs as well."

After suffering a debilitating knee injury at Missouri that nearly ended his career, Josey returned to the field last season, rushing for over 1,000 yards as a senior. As he looks to make a mark in the NFL, Josey said he appreciated the opportunity to find a rhythm as a ball-carrier Friday night. More importantly, though, he appreciated simply being on the field.

"Oh, it's a blessing," said Josey, who was signed by the Eagles as a rookie free agent. "I love it and I'll thank God every day for it, because it wasn't supposed to be possible for me and now it is. I'm just happy to be able to do it again."