Blue White Illustrated

On HUDL.com, a website similar to YouTube to which players and coaches can upload highlights and game 4lm, Barkley's reel has more views (13,520, as of this writing) than that of any other prospect in Pennsylvania in the Class of 2015. Among Penn State signees, only Tommy Stevens – a quarterback, of course – had more views (16,321). Barkley's click count got a boost when twice Franklin gave it a public shout-out on signing day. "If you have watched Saquon's high school highlight tape, it is really impressive," he said. "It's sick." If highlight videos aren't your thing, there will be plenty of additional oppor- tunities to see Barkley in Beaver Stadium, when 100,000 or so others are watching. It could be as soon as this season. Penn State loses two running backs to graduation, creating an open battle for carries that will feature Barkley and class- mate Andre Robinson, junior Akeel Lynch and redshirt freshmen Mark Allen, Nick Scott and Jonathan Thomas. While Robinson's high school exploits have been impressive, Whitehall head coach Brian Gilbert said the competition with his future teammates will help sharpen the 5-foot-11, 210-pounder's skills. "He'll be one of those guys who will be motivated by the upperclassmen or by someone doing it among his own position," Gilbert said. "He'll be pushing everyone at his own position. He may get better just because of his work ethic." Gilbert is eager to see how it unfolds. "I can't wait for him to get up in that atmosphere where he's going to be with a bunch of guys who are also going to be working, competing, and having a common goal," he said. "I think that's going to be great for him because this last year, at least on our team, he wasn't pushed too much. I can't wait to see how he acts when he gets pushed." Gilbert is con4dent that Barkley has the tools to succeed at the next level – and fairly soon, too. If there's anything that could initially hold him back, it'll be what young running backs o5en struggle with in the transition to college: pass blocking. If only because he was rarely asked to do that in high school. With such a dynamic athlete in the back- 4eld, Gilbert preferred to put the ball in Barkley's hands rather than keeping him in to block. But at Penn State, he'll be called upon to do a lot more than just handle the football. "Going into Big Ten football, major- college football, he needs to work on his blocking," Gilbert said. "We didn't ask him to do a ton of it, because we'd rather get him out in open space on routes than keep him in the back4eld to block. So when he gets up there and he has those opportunities to work on his blocking, I think that's going to be crucial for him." The yardage that Barkley piled up helped him earn recognition as the best football player in the state. Among the players he edged out were other Division I recruits such as Jordan Whitehead (Pitt), Ben Din- ucci (Pitt), Jon Runyan Jr. (Michigan) and his future teammate Robinson. His per- formances also created a good highlight reel to share. For a time, however, it didn't seem likely that Barkley would claim Mr. Pennsylvania honors. A5er Whitehall lost in the 4rst round of the district champi- onship, the coaches thought it was out of sight. "He and I had the conversation: You know what? If it doesn't happen, that's probably one of the reasons why. Usually you have to reach the state 4nals, or close to it, so more writers across the state know your name," Gilbert said. "But I'm just glad everybody was able to see through us having three losses and see what a quality player he was." ■ CLICK HERE to see video of Barkley in action. THE BARKLEY FILE STATS Rushed for more than 1,500 yards as a junior at Whitehall High, then sur- passed that total with 1,851 yards last season, becoming the school's all-time leading rusher in the process... Averaged 8.6 yards on 216 carries to lead Whitehall to an 8-3 record in 2014... Scored 24 touchdowns his senior year HONORS Was named a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, as well as the No. 2 prospect in Pennsylvania and the No. 117 prospect nationally. ... Received first-team Class AAAA All-State recognition from the Pennsylvania Football Writers... Cho- sen to play in the O7ense-Defense All- American Bowl in January in Orlando, Fla.... Two-time All-Lehigh Valley Confer- ence selection... Named large-school Mr. Pennsylvania in a vote of coaches, fans and media

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