Blue White Illustrated

(4.38 seconds), pro agility drill (4.0 sec- onds) and power clean (390 pounds), as well as a third-place finish in the squat (600 pounds) behind defensive tackles Kevin Givens and Antoine White, Barkley was held out of the more physi- cal aspects of spring practice. The ap- proach has paid dividends, with the sophomore reporting that he feels "amazing" physically. Barkley hadn't been expected to see much action in the Blue-White Game, but as it turned out, he didn't see any at all. Although he dressed for the game, he spent the entire afternoon on the side- line. Franklin said his absence served two purposes: It kept one of the offense's most important players out of harm's way and it also allowed the coaches to give backups Andre Robinson and Mark Allen an extended audition. "We just felt like we know what we have with Saquon," Franklin said. "It's a fine line, don't get me wrong. Saquon still has to get better, he's got a lot of ar- eas for growth. But to go out and go live in the spring game, I didn't think it made a whole lot of sense, especially when we have a pretty huge competition going on right now with Mark Allen and Andre. So allowing those guys to com- pete and play and get a bunch of reps and see how they're going to handle it [was important]. They both played with the Blue and the White, which was by choice." Allen, a redshirt sophomore who backed up Barkley and Akeel Lynch last season, opened the game with the Blue and racked up 59 yards on 14 carries. He also had five catches for 48 yards. Robin- son finished with 44 yards on seven car- ries and scored the game's only rushing touchdown on a 28-yard sprint down the right sideline in the fourth quarter. Saquon, because he has all the physi- cal ability that's going to take me a couple of years to get, but he still needs the mental aspect. Maybe my role at Penn State is to help us get through the sanctions, help us get to the Pinstripe Bowl. I understand the bigger picture. So I was like, let me help him. Let me help him get his con- fidence, let me help him with his pass blocking, with the other side of the game that he can't see yet because he's only a freshman. I've been here for a couple of years, I've seen it all. I just want to make sure that he gets that experience from me before I leave." Lynch isn't the only recent Penn State transfer looking to land on his feet somewhere else. At Oklahoma, receiver Geno Lewis reportedly enjoyed a strong spring in anticipation of his first and only season with the Sooners. "He's brought a pro- fessional attitude to it in that he knows he's only got one year at it and he's got to come make the most of every day," offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley told the OUDaily.com. "He's been a good leader by example, and he's also helped create more competition at a spot [where] there already was competition." At Delaware, linebacker Troy Reeder will also be eligible this year, as he is dropping down to play in the Football Championship Subdivision. Younger brother Colby Reeder, an incoming freshman linebacker with the Blue Hens, told UDReview.com in February that "I know he wasn't really happy at Penn State. We kind of wanted to play together again anyway. … I'm just ex- cited to be able to play with him." Coach Dave Brock said he envisions Reeder fitting in at either the middle or weakside linebacker spot. The decision hadn't been made prior to spring prac- tice, but as Brock said before the start of the team's off-season drills, "I don't think that will be very hard. His play will figure it out." The two other scholarship players who transferred in January – linebacker Gary Wooten Jr. and defensive back Daquan Worley – both ended up at Duquesne and were eligible to take part in spring practice. EXIT STRATEGY Lynch (left) said he knew his time as starter was about to end when Barkley (in- set) "jumped over the dude from Buffalo." Pho- tos by Steve Manuel

• Cover