Penn State Sports Magazine
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2 0 1 6 P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L James Franklin said. "You wouldn't even know, and that's not just me, that's having my player meetings with all the guys from the team. A lot of guys commented on how he's handled it: how he is on campus, how he is on Saturday night, how he is just with his teammates in the locker room and his approach on the field. He's very humble, very hardworking, very mature, and he's doing well academically. You don't see that [combination of everything] very often." Nearly every aspect of Barkley's first sea- son at Penn State illustrated just how rare a talent he is. Although the Nittany Lions sputtered out of the gates in their upset loss at Temple, a game in which Barkley carried the ball a single time for a single yard, his 12 carries for 115 yards against Buffalo in week two opened many eyes. He followed with 21 carries for 195 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Penn State's home win against Rutgers, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for the second week in a row and setting the stage for a true breakout. An ankle injury midway through Penn State's win over San Diego State threw him briefly off course, sidelining the Coplay, Pa., resident in successive games against Army and Indiana, but he emerged from that hiatus with his strong night against the Buckeyes. That Barkley enjoyed so much success so quickly wasn't a fluke. Franklin had talked during preseason camp about his potential, and the former Rivals.com four- star prospect, a first-team All-State and Mr. Pennsylvania Football winner, did not disappoint, exceeding even the lofty billings that accompanied his verbal com- mitment to Penn State out of high school. But a few years ago, Barkley himself thought none of this possible. Having wrapped up his freshman season at White- hall High School near Allentown, he was approached by his coach, Brian Gilbert, about attending a football camp at Vil- lanova University. "I looked him dead in the eye and I was just like, 'Coach, I don't want to play college football. It's just not something I want to do.' " Barkley had seen the statistics and, as he explained, "reality set in." He hadn't given up on football necessarily, but he understood that of the thousands of high KEY PERSONNEL Mark Allen*, Saquon Barkley*, Andre Robinson, Miles Sanders, Johnathan Thomas LOSSES Akeel Lynch*, Nick Scott* RISING STAR The Nittany Lions have two exciting runners who have yet to see action: Robinson, a redshirt freshman, and Sanders, a true fresh- man. One of those two could claim this title once the season begins. Robinson rushed for 44 yards on seven carries and had an impressive 28-yard touch- down run in the Blue-White Game, while Sanders, a four-star recruit from Pittsburgh, may turn out to be simply too talented to redshirt. But the guy who was winning raves in spring practice was Allen. At 5-foot- 6, 181 pounds, the redshirt sophomore has got a different physique than the 223-pound Barkley, but as a change- of-pace guy, he could have an impact this fall. Although he made an early- season start when injuries knocked Lynch and Barkley out of action, he played sparingly as a freshman, rushing for 98 yards on 27 carries. However, he was reportedly impressive throughout spring practice, including in the spring game, in which he led all rushers with 59 yards on 14 carries. Said offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, "Mark is in- credible. He's a great playmaker with the ball in his hands, but the thing that surprised me was that he is incredibly physical and he's a great pass protec- tor." BIGGEST LOSS Lynch started five of Penn State's first seven games last sea- son before being relegated to a sup- porting role following Barkley's emer- gence. He transferred to Nevada this spring, where he will be eligible to play right away. In three seasons at Penn State, he rushed for 1,318 yards. NUMBERS GAME Barkley's 1,076 rushing yards last season ranked sec- ond among freshman running backs in the Football Bowl Subdivision. But even so, Penn State finished 12th in the Big Ten and 105th nationally in rushing offense (134.2 yards per game). OUTLOOK The numbers above tell you all you need to know about the state of Penn State's running game. This is a team with an incandescent young star in Barkley, but before the Nittany Lions can fully capitalize on his potential, they must get their dif- ficulties up front sorted out. As a freshman, Barkley showed that if he could get to the second level, he could do a lot of damage, either by careening off of would- be tacklers, scooting around them or, if need be, simply jumping over them. Any given play had the potential to turn into a huge gainer if he could just find an opening. Barkley >> RUNNING BACK NO NAME YR HT WT 26 Saquon Barkley So. 5-11 223 8 Mark Allen R-So. 5-6 181 6 Andre Robinson R-Fr. 5-9 212 20 J. Thomas R-So. 5-11 219 24 Miles Sanders Fr. 5-11 200 * Starting experience in 2015 OR OR OR