Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1420595
6 4 N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M M uch of the football world held its collective breath when Giants star and for- mer Penn State phenom Saquon Barkley went down early in New York's Week 5 game against the Dallas Cowboys. Barkley had looked like himself the previous week for the first time since returning from an ACL injury that forced him to miss the bulk of last season, surpassing 100 total yards and scoring the winning touchdown in overtime against the Saints. Yet there he was, limping off the field after colliding oddly with Cowboys defensive back Jourdan Lewis. He made it to the sideline before being carted off. But everyone could exhale in the aftermath of the game when it was revealed that Barkley had only suffered an ankle sprain. He did not play in the Giants' Week 6 game against the Rams. "I care about the welfare and health of the player, so we'll do the best thing by him, and if he's ready to go out there and play, he'll go out there and play," Giants head coach Joe Judge said. "If we have to get him back to health in the course of time, we'll do that for him as well." Speaking with the media, Barkley said he would not place a timetable on his re- turn, instead opting to listen to his body, and to his trainers. "I'll be honest, it's frustrating," he said. "It doesn't make sense why it's happen- ing, but obviously when you get hurt, you have those one or two days when it's an ankle sprain. Obviously, when it's a knee injury, it's probably a little longer. You have those days to reflect and feel bad for yourself and have that 'why me?' mentality. "But you can't keep that mindset. Having that mindset, you're not going to get anywhere with it. You've just got to look on the brighter side. Everything happens for a reason. This could slow me down to help me out in other ways to get myself ready, and whenever I'm go- ing to get back on the field, just get back to playing the sport that I love and to get back to contributing to help the team." FORMER NITTANY LIONS ON NFL ROSTERS Marcus Allen (2014-17), LB, Pittsburgh Steelers: Allen continues to contribute on special teams for the Steelers, playing 25 snaps in a Sunday night win over Seattle. He has yet to appear on defense this season. Adrian Amos (2011-14), S, Green Bay Packers: Amos keyed a very solid performance from the Packers defense in a win over the Bears on the road. He just barely missed his second interception of the season in the back of the end zone against Justin Fields and made three solo tackles for Green Bay while playing every defensive snap for the fifth week in a row. Troy Apke (2014-17), S, Washington Football Team: Apke's role remains limited to special teams for Washington after playing 21 snaps against the Chiefs. He has yet to play on defense this season. Ryan Bates (2015-18), OL, Buffalo Bills: Bates played one snap on offense and five snaps on special teams in Buffalo's loss to Tennessee on "Monday Night Football." Nick Bowers (2015-19), TE, Las Vegas Raiders: After making his NFL debut in Week 5, Bowers saw the field again for the Raiders, playing five snaps on offense and 17 on special teams against the Broncos. Cam Brown (2016-19), LB, New York Giants: Brown returned in Week 6 after missing four games with an injury, playing 20 snaps on special teams. He did not see the field on defense in New York's loss to the Rams. Jason Cabinda (2014-17), FB, Detroit Lions: Cabinda played only two offensive snaps against the Bengals, his lowest total of the season. He has one reception for four yards on the year. Dan Chisena (2015-19), WR, Minne- sota Vikings: Chisena made his season debut for the Vikings in Week 6, playing one snap at wide receiver and seeing ac- tion on 66 percent of Minnesota's special teams snaps. Pat Freiermuth (2018-20), TE, Pitts- burgh Steelers: Freiermuth turned in his best per- formance of the season in an overtime win for the Steelers over the Seahawks. The rookie caught all seven of his targets for 58 yards and also contrib- uted as a blocker while earning his largest snap share of the season so far at 60 percent. He now has 18 receptions for 158 yards and a touchdown on the season. Will Fries (2016-20), OL, Indianapolis Colts: The seventh-rounder is still waiting to make his debut for the Colts. Mike Gesicki (Played at Penn State from 2014- 17), TE, Miami Dolphins: Gesicki filled up the stat sheet very nicely during a trip to London in Week 6. He was targeted nine times against Jacksonville, hauling in eight of those passes for 115 yards — the second 100-yard game of his career. He led the Dolphins with 3.93 yards of average receiver sepa- ration, according to Next Gen Stats, well over the league average of 2.88 yards. His 342 receiving yards up to that point in the season were fifth among NFL tight ends. Blake Gillikin (2016-19), P, New Orleans Saints: Gillikin has quietly become one of the most effec- tive specialists in the NFL, averaging 49.8 yards per punt to rank fourth in the league among regular punters. He punted five times for an average of Barkley suffered an ankle injury against the Cowboys in Week 6, which was later diagnosed as a sprain. He is expected to return to action later this season. PHOTO COURTESY KA SPORTS PHOTOS DAV E E C K E R T | D AV I D E C K E R T 9 8 @ G M A I L . C O M Saquon Barkley Upbeat Despite Another Injury PSU IN THE PROS