Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/847744
2 0 1 7 S E A S O N P R E V I E W KEY PERSONNEL Mark Allen, Saquon Barkley*, Journey Brown, Josh McPhearson, Andre Robinson, Miles Sanders, Johnathan Thomas LOSSES None RISING STAR Let's be honest: Until Barkley moves on to the NFL, our "rising star" designation will be something of a ceremonial title. The Nittany Lions' junior All-America candidate will, barring injury, re- ceive the overwhelming bulk of the carries, just as he did last year, which means that the would-be ris- ing stars on the current team will have to make the most of their rela- tively infrequent carries or find other ways to have an impact. One of those ways will be on special teams, and that's where Sanders and McPhearson could have an opportu- nity to shine. Sanders showed flashes of potential as a kickoff re- turner last year, while McPhearson was moved over from defense this spring in order to compete for the punt-return job. James Franklin thought that the running backs' ball-security drills would help pre- pare him for that role. BIGGEST LOSS None. Not only did the Nittany Lions not lose anyone from their 2016 backfield, but all four of the scholarship players who saw action at running back last year will still have eligibility in 2018. Whether they opt to use that eligi- bility or not is, of course, a separate question. NUMBERS GAME Barkley's success has meant that the backups have had only limited change-of-pace roles in the o8ense. A year ago, Robinson, Allen and Sanders totaled only 83 carries between the three of them. That 7gure amounted to only 15.4 RUNNING BACKS S P O T L I G H T B Y M A T T H E R B * Starting experience in 2016 SAQUON BARKLEY RECORD WATCH A9er surpassing 1,000 yards in both of his 7rst two collegiate seasons, junior run- ning back Saquon Barkley is within reach of several Penn State career rushing and scoring records. In addition, he has shown the potential to threaten a number of longstanding season and single-game marks. Those records are listed below. SCORING IN A SEASON RANK PLAYER YEAR POINTS BREAKDOWN 1. Lydell Mitchell 1971 174 29 touchdowns 2. Larry Johnson 2002 140 23 TDs, 1 two-point conversion 3. Ki-Jana Carter 1994 138 23 touchdowns 4. Saquon Barkley 2016 132 22 touchdowns 5. Tyler Davis 2016 128 22 field goals, 62 PATs ALL-PURPOSE YARDS IN A GAME RANK PLAYER YEAR OPPONENT YDS 1. Curt Warner 1981 Syracuse 341 2. Larry Johnson 2002 Indiana 327 3. Saquon Barkley 2016 USC (Rose Bowl) 306 4. Harry Wilson 1923 Navy 302 5. Larry Johnson 2002 Illinois 297 RUSHING YARDS IN A GAME RANK PLAYER YEAR OPPONENT YDS 1. Larry Johnson 2002 Indiana 327 2. Larry Johnson 2002 Illinois 279 Larry Johnson 2002 Michigan State 279 4. Larry Johnson 2002 Northwestern 257 5. Curt Warner 1981 Syracuse 256 RUSHING YARDS IN A SEASON RANK PLAYER YEAR YARDS 1. Larry Johnson 2002 2,087 2. Lydell Mitchell 1971 1,567 3. Ki-Jana Carter 1994 1,539 4. John Cappelletti 1973 1,522 5. Saquon Barkley 2016 1,496 CAREER RUSHING YARDS RANK PLAYER YEARS YARDS 1. Evan Royster 2007-10 3,932 2. Curt Warner 1979-82 3,398 3. Tony Hunt 2003-06 3,320 4. Blair Thomas 1985-89 3,301 5. Curtis Enis 1995-97 3,256 12. Saquon Barkley 2015- 2,572 CAREER 100-YARD RUSHING GAMES RANK PLAYER YEARS GAMES 1. Curt Warner 1979-82 18 2. Ki-Jana Carter 1983-84 17 Curtis Enis 1995-97 17 Blair Thomas 1986-89 17 5. Tony Hunt 2004-06 15 Lydell Mitchell 1969-71 15 Evan Royster 2007-10 15 T-12. Saquon Barkley 2015- 10 CAREER RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS RANK PLAYER YEARS TDS 1. Lydell Mitchell 1969-71 38 2. Curtis Enis 1995-97 36 3. Ki-Jana Carter 1992-94 34 4. Charlie Pittman 1967-69 30 5. John Cappelletti 1972-73 29 Richie Anderson 1989-92 29 Evan Royster 2007-10 29 T-6. Saquon Barkley 2015- 25 SCORING IN A SEASON RUSHING YARDS IN A GAME RUSHING YARDS IN A SEASON ALL-PURPOSE YARDS IN A GAME CAREER RUSHING YARDS CAREER 100-YARD RUSHING GAMES CAREER RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS