Saquon Barkley set for next hurdle at Penn State: National stardom
Penn State coach James Franklin was listing the attributes of what makes Saquon Barkley a special running back before summing it up this way: "The good Lord doesn't give you everything. For whatever reason, he's been given more than most."
Penn State coach James Franklin was listing the attributes of what makes Saquon Barkley a special running back before summing it up this way: "The good Lord doesn't give you everything. For whatever reason, he's been given more than most."
It didn't take Barkley very long - the second game of his collegiate career, to be exact - before he exhibited one of those special gifts. With the Nittany Lions driving deep into Buffalo territory, he took a handoff and hurdled free safety Ryan Williamson on his way to a 17-yard gain.
"I was like, 'Wow, this is college football, I can do this,' " Barkley recalled earlier this month. "It was definitely when I jumped over the safety. I was really upset I didn't score on the play because I slipped. But when I heard the crowd's reaction to it, I was like, 'This is real. This is what I've been dreaming about and I'm finally here.' "
After a rookie season that included five 100-yard rushing games and a school freshman record 1,076 yards, Barkley is back for his sophomore year in a new no-huddle offense that promises to get him the football in open space. Given his speed, power and agility, Barkley could join the ranks as one of the nation's best at his position.
"You see a guy that has all the tools necessary to be a superstar," new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead said. "He has small-back skills in a big-back body. He can run by you. He can make you miss. He can run over you. He can hurdle you. He's good in pass protection.
"I think the thing we've seen from Saquon in the spring and heading into camp is a maturity and an ability to handle the leadership role that is incumbent upon guys that are as good as him."
The 5-foot-11, 223-pound Barkley hasn't taken his early success for granted. He became one of the stars of Penn State's winter workout program. He lifted 390 pounds in the power clean and squatted 600 pounds, one of only three team members to do that. He ran the team's fastest 40-yard dash, 4.38 seconds.
For someone who is going to be an important figure on offense and getting a lot of touches, Barkley will make sure he takes care of his body during the season, something he learned from veteran teammate Akeel Lynch.
"It's just maturing in that area, becoming more of a pro with my body," he said. "It's coming in and getting treatment and getting ice, getting an extra stretch and stuff like that, because with the running back position, it's wear and tear on your body, especially throughout the season."
Barkley started playing football when he was 7 or 8 years old. He watched NFL games on television with his father and became a big fan of Barry Sanders. He said people compared him to the quick-footed Sanders because "I would run back and forth . . . I didn't want to get hit."
At Whitehall High School in the Lehigh Valley, he first started late in his sophomore year, but he had shown enough in the next summer to receive an offer from Rutgers, which he accepted. However, after rushing for 1,506 yards and scoring 27 touchdowns as a junior, he changed his mind and committed to Penn State.
He rolled up 1,856 rushing yards and 31 total touchdowns as a senior and came to Penn State as a budding superstar. He carried the ball only once in his varsity debut at Temple but eventually established himself as the Nittany Lions' top back, moving into the national spotlight with a 194-yard rushing performance at Ohio State.
And fans in Happy Valley would see him hurdle again, only this time it resulted in a 7-yard touchdown run against Illinois.
"A lot of my hurdles were pretty cool, in my opinion," he said, "but the Illinois one I actually scored on. So I'll take the touchdown every day, over any play."
It could be a continuous highlight film with Barkley in the lineup this season, perhaps even more so if Franklin decides to have him returning kicks. But he is more interested in the success of his team than anything else.
"My mind's not on that," Barkley said. "My mind's at a whole another level trying to get my team going and trying to be one of the guys that helps Penn State to where it once was."
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