For all of the impressive physical traits Penn State running back Saquon Barkley possess it is perhaps the one thing away from the game itself that is most impressive.
He can make Beaver Stadium gasp. He can make a crowd of 103,000 wipe the rain from their glasses and lean a bit farther forward in their seats. When Barkley is in the backfield it demands your attention, it requires that you not miss the next snap.
And that’s what makes Barkley already great.
Of the 71,900 results that appear on Google when searching for his name, it’s safe to assume that the vast majority of them showed up in the past two weeks. He has gone from another recruit in Penn State’s freshman haul to arguably the Nittany Lions’ most explosive offensive weapon. One might even argue he’s Penn State’s biggest star as Christian Hackenberg’s career takes an odd path in a productive but surprisingly irrelevant direction.
On paper Barkley has rushed for only 311 yards over the span of three games. He has 34 carries to his name and has three touchdowns to show for it.
His 9.1 yard per carry is sixth best in the nation while his total yardage is 31st, lagging behind the national lead by 196 yards or some 588 feet of football field. He sits just 51 yards behind Larry Johnson’s 2000 yard pace in 2002 having done so in 20 fewer carries. That statistic more interesting than perhaps relevant three weeks into the season.
But when you watch Barkley run on the field it’s hard not to think of Johnson and many of the other truly great running backs to have come through the tunnel at Beaver Stadium. Barkley seems to be opposed to the idea of going down after first contact, he seems annoyed by defenders trying to knock him off balance. Picking up his second Big Ten Freshman of The Week in a row, Barkley is still a relative unknown, James Franklin not allowing true freshman to speak to the media.
However the better and better Barkley plays, the harder it may be to keep that policy in place.
The question moving forward will be how Barkley does against better defenses. What made Johnson and Curtis Enis and so many others so good was their relative disregard for any tackler of any shape or size. Barkley’s talent will truly be determined by how he does under the brightest lights. If he can make the Horseshoe check their programs in a few short weeks, that’s when things start to get serious. Especially true under the lens of Penn State’s frequently questionable offensive front.
While Barkley may not be destined for Hiesman consideration his freshman year it is abundantly clear that he has “it” already so early in his career.
Does he hit a freshman wall? Is the praise premature? Not to mention, can Barkley jump proven veteran Akeel Lynch as the starter?
Nobody knows. But everyone will be watching.
