Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1518105
6 2 A P R I L 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M A fter six seasons in New York, for- mer Penn State All-American Sa- quon Barkley is moving on. Perhaps the greatest running back in Nittany Lion football history, Barkley was drafted second overall by the New York Giants in 2018 but only sporadi- cally displayed the playmaking talent that was his trademark at PSU. Ham- pered both by injuries and by shortcom- ings throughout the Giants' offensive depth chart, he topped 1,000 rushing yards in only three of his half-dozen seasons in New York. He hit the free agent market when the Giants opted not to use the franchise tag on him for the second year in a row, and now he's poised to haunt his former team as a member of the NFC East rival Philadel- phia Eagles. Barkley's impending relocation was one of the league's biggest headlines when free agency began in mid-March, but it wasn't the first time that a former Penn State running back rocked the NFL by changing teams via free agency. Forty years ago, Franco Harris found himself on the move after 12 seasons in Pittsburgh. Free agency as we've come to know it didn't exist at the time, but in a roundabout way, the league's strict limitations on player movement help explain how he ended up on the open market heading into the 1984 season. In a world without real free agency, the Steelers were able to hold onto the core of a championship-caliber team for an entire decade. Harris, quarterback Terry Bradshaw, center Mike Webster, defensive tackle Joe Greene, lineback- ers Jack Ham and Jack Lambert, and safeties Mel Blount and Donnie Shell all spent at least 10 seasons in Pittsburgh. After winning four Super Bowls in the 1970s, however, the team's age was show- ing. A rebuilding project was underway, and Harris was one of the casualties. The former Penn Stater had rushed for 11,950 yards since his arrival as a first- round draft pick in 1972. He was only 363 yards away from breaking Jim Brown's all-time NFL rushing record, but he was at odds with the team over his contract heading into the '84 season. The Steel- ers were offering $557,000, along with a $100,000 bonus for breaking Brown's record of 12,312 yards. Team president Dan Rooney described it as "a fair offer." Harris disagreed, and on Aug. 20, 1984, he was released. It was an abrupt split, even by the NFL's famously un- sentimental standards. When asked during training camp about the absence of the future Hall of Famer, coach Chuck Noll famously quipped, "Franco who?" Heading West Even at age 34, Harris felt he could still be a productive NFL running back. He had, after all, rushed for 1,007 yards in 1983. His opportunity arose when the Se- attle Seahawks found themselves with a sudden opening in their backfield. In an odd coincidence, Harris ended up re- BACKFIELD IN MOTION Forty years ago, Franco Harris added a postscript to his Hall of Fame career by chasing the NFL's all-time rushing record in a new city M A T T H E R B | M A T T . H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M Harris and fellow Nittany Lion football alum Curt Warner faced off in 1983 when the Steelers played at Seattle. It was Harris' final season in Pittsburgh and Warner's rookie season with the Seahawks. Harris finished the game with 132 yards, while Warner had 48. The Steelers won, 27-21, at the Kingdome. PHOTO BY CORKY TREWIN/SEATTLE SEAHAWKS