PRO TOOLS
Barkley finished
second in the
league in rushing
last season with
1,307 yards.
Photo by Keith
Allison
S
aquon Barkley made a sensational NFL
debut, amassing more than 2,000 yards
from scrimmage and winning O6ensive
Rookie of the Year honors from The Associ-
ated Press. If he enjoys continued success in
the years to come, it will go a long way to-
ward dispelling the belief by many in
the media and a multitude of fans
that Penn State running backs are
not good enough to make it in
the pros.
It's a shortsighted view
based primarily on the
failure of three heavily
hyped high-5rst-
round dra7 choices
20 to 30 years ago
who never lived up
to expectations:
D.J. Dozier, Blair
Thomas and Ki-
Jana Carter. There
also is some validity to
the premise because of the mixed success of
Nittany Lion running backs in the past 20-
plus years. Overlooked, however, is the his-
torical success of several Nittany Lions
dating back to the mid-1950s, two of whom
are now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame:
Lenny Moore and Franco Harris.
What is also frequently disregarded by crit-
ics is the ferocious battering that curtails the
careers of most NFL running backs. Accord-
ing to the NFL Players Association, the aver-
age NFL career is only about 3.5 years, and
the average career for a running back is 2.57
years. The latter number is the lowest for any
PROFESSIONAL
GRADE
Saquon Barkley is the latest
Penn Stater to hit the ground
running in the NFL
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