Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/590325
ot since Curtis Enis 20 years ago
has a true freshman running back
had as big an impact in his ;rst
Penn State season as Saquon Barkley, and
you have to go further back to D. J. Dozier
in 1983 and Curt Warner in 1979 to ;nd
any other true frosh to compare with
Barkley's debut.
Before the NCAA made freshmen eligible
in 1972, the only time true freshmen played
was during the early decades of college
football in the 19th century and the World
War I and II years of the 20th century.
That's why two of Penn State's greatest
running backs, Lenny Moore and Lydell
Mitchell, did not play as freshmen in 1952
and '68, respectively.
Like Barkley, Warner and Dozier started
their freshman seasons as backup tailbacks.
They made their debuts at Beaver Stadium,
with Warner playing with the ;rst team
in the opening game, Dozier in the third
game of the year.
Enis's situation was more unusual. He
was a second-team linebacker in Penn
State's opening 24-23 win over Texas Tech
at the Beav in 1995 and was credited with
three tackles, but coach Joe Paterno moved
him to tailback three days before the next
game because injuries had wiped out the
depth chart at tailback behind senior starter
Mike Archie. Of the four true frosh, Enis
had the best running day in his initial game,
gaining 132 yards on 14 carries and scoring
touchdowns of 24, 3 and 6 yards
in a 66-14 romp over Temple.
Warner and Dozier also hit the
100-yard mark in their ;rst
games. Warner had 100 yards and
two touchdowns on 12 carries in
a 45-10 blowout of Rutgers, while
Dozier ;nished with 102 yards
on eight carries in a 42-34 loss to
Iowa. Barkley began his career
much more quietly, gaining 1 yard
on one carry at Temple, but he
had a breakout game a week later
in Penn State's home opener, to-
taling 115 yards and a touchdown on 12
carries in a 27-14 victory over Bu