Blue White Illustrated

November 2025

Penn State Sports Magazine

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N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 5 6 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State quickly found itself way off-schedule after hitting a long pass in the first quarter of its matchup against San Diego State in Sep- tember 2015. A personal foul on first-and-goal had pushed the Nittany Lions from the 7-yard line out of the red zone entirely. Their hopes of opening the nonconference game with a touchdown had seemingly dimmed considerably — an ominous sign for an offense that had finished 110th in the FBS in scoring the year before. But the Lions had a weapon in their ar- senal that they had lacked in 2014. On first-and-goal from the 22, quarterback Christian Hackenberg took a few steps backward out of a shotgun snap and dumped the ball to freshman running back Saquon Barkley at the 25. On the first reception of his college career, Barkley turned and juked past a defensive lineman two yards deep in the backfield. When a second lineman tried wrapping his arm around Barkley's waist, the young running back spun 360 de- grees and made his escape. There were three more Aztecs waiting for him when he regained his bearings, but he ran right past them, then headed for the end zone, where he dived over a sixth would-be tackler while waving the ball over the goal line. Barkley's score brought the crowd to life, and it wasn't just the fans who loved what they were seeing. "Saquon has been exciting this year, no doubt about it," coach James Franklin marveled. "He's been fun to watch." Barkley was playing in only his fourth college game at the time, and the fun was just beginning. It wouldn't be long before people were referring to him as a "genera- tional talent." That phrase tends to get tossed around in hyperbolic ways, often to describe players whose talents aren't especially unique or whose productivity can and will be replaced by their successors. In Barkley's case, however, it's entirely pos- sible that the Nittany Lions won't see his likes again anytime soon. As he showed in that 37-21 victory over San Diego State a decade ago, he possessed the kind of playmaking talent that could erase mis- takes, cover up for shortcomings else- where on the field and attract defensive attention, allowing others to shine. His combination of strength, speed, vision and balance has proven exceedingly dif- ficult to replicate. Leaping Forward The evidence for Barkley as the most indispensable cog in Penn State's offen- sive operation is circumstantial but com- pelling. It can be summed up like so: The Nittany Lions made a huge leap forward in 2016 and continued their upward tra- jectory the following season, a two-year period during which Barkley was a full- time starter. When he left for the NFL following his junior year, there was an in- stant drop-off in both yards and points per game, and in the years since he headed to the pros, the Lions have only intermit- tently recaptured the magic of those two Barkley-led campaigns. Prior to the 2016 season, Penn State overhauled its offensive operation, bring- ing in a new coordinator in Joe Moorhead, formerly head coach at Fordham. The team also replaced Hackenberg with the more mobile Trace McSorley, a change that occurred just as the most drastic effects of the NCAA's post-Sandusky scholarship reductions were beginning to recede. Those improvements, coupled with Barkley's ongoing development, led to a scoring uptick of more than two touch- downs per game — from 23.2 points in 2015 to 37.6 the following year. In less than 12 months, the Lions went from having one of the most stagnant offenses in the Barkley scored a 22-yard touchdown against San Diego State on the first pass reception of his college career. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL A SINGULAR STAR Ten years ago, Saquon Barkley served notice that he was going to be a special player for PSU M AT T H E R B | M AT T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M

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