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P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> ELECTRIC C O V E R S T O R Y Miles Sanders has been watching and waiting for the past two seasons, eager for an extended opportunity to showcase his RB skills. That opportunity has arrived 'HE'S GOING TO BE THIS YEAR' aquon Barkley is already consid- ered a once-in-a-generation tal- ent at Penn State, but the 1,271 rushing yards he gained last season con- stituted a relatively unremarkable total, at least on the national stage. Barkley finished 28th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in total rushing yards, and his average of 97.8 yards per game was also outside of the top 25. He did reach the end zone more frequently than many of those other runners, scoring 18 rushing touchdowns in 2017. Even so, there were six running backs and a pair of dual-threat quarterbacks ahead of him in that category. But those statistics and rankings offer an incomplete picture of Barkley's contri- butions to Penn State's success, and no one knows that better than his successor, Miles Sanders. Sanders is keenly aware that Barkley's three seasons of greatness had everything to do with his incredible versatility. That's why the junior running back spent his off-season working to incorporate facets of Barkley's skill set into his own game. "I'm just trying to be the all-purpose back, the all-around back," he said. "You see running backs in the NFL, they all catch the ball out of the backfield. So that's what I'm willing to do to help this team win, to have Trace's trust in me to throw it to me whenever he needs to." Barkley filled that role marvelously, serving as one of Trace McSorley's most reliable targets with 28 catches for 402 yards and four touchdowns in 2016 and 54 for 632 yards and three scores last year. His sure hands were an essential compo- nent of Penn State's offensive success, as opponents sold out to stop him in the running game. Having seen Barkley's repertoire first- hand, the 5-foot-11, 207-pound Sanders went to work during the off-season, not only with his teammates in the running backs room but also a few steps down the Lasch Building hallway with the wideouts. Veteran receivers Juwan Johnson, DeAndre Thompkins and Brandon Polk welcomed Sanders to their group as they took turns catching balls from the JUGS machine. "The main thing I've been working on is my hands this summer. No dropped balls, none of that," Sanders said. "I'm just making sure I have confidence and con- sistency catching the ball." With his starring turn in Penn State's offense growing ever closer, the effort ap- pears to be paying off. At the very least, it has left teammates and coaches feeling encouraged by his potential. "Miles is a big guy with great speed," Penn State offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne said. "He's got almost the same size that Saquon has. He's gotten a lot bigger, a lot more physical. He has very, very good vision, especially in between the tackles. "But he has the speed to play on the perimeter and make plays out there. His ability to break tackles and have great bal- ance on contact is going to be a huge asset, not to mention the fact that I think he's made a major improvement in his ability to run routes and catch the ball. Then he also has really worked on and done a great job this spring of pass protecting." In addition, Sanders has also grown much more comfortable with Penn State's offense. The Nittany Lions had a way of making Joe Moorhead's system appear effortless at times during the past two seasons, but Sanders acknowledged that there were instances in which he would look to McSorley for guidance. | S

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