Blue White Illustrated

ON JOHN REID John's been great. He had a pretty [serious injury] he had to get back from, and you know how John is. John is going to grind in everything he does. He's been phenomenal, he's been back and he's doing a lot of stuff at a really high rate of speed outside. He's been great in the weight room. So it's really good to have him back, not only physically but just in terms of his presence and leadership. He's a special guy. He's kind of a magnetic guy. Does- n't say a lot, but when he does talk, everybody stops and listens. So it's been a very powerful addition to get him back. ON MILES SANDERS Miles is a stud. We've got some really good running backs in this program, and after Saquon [Barkley]… they've certainly been on the back burner. This kid is a special kid. We feel very, very good about what Miles Sanders brings us on the football field, but especially off the field. Running back has always been one of our best po- sitions culturewise. They work hard, they do what they're supposed to do. They care. They're good leaders. And obviously Saquon was such a powerful presence. He wasn't a big, loud, obnox- ious guy like that. But his presence was so strong that you couldn't help but be in position to kind of take a step back and let him go. Miles didn't hesitate the second we started in January. He stepped right up. He's the leader of the running backs and he's really done a great job. And Mark Allen has really done a great job, too, as a fifth-year sen- ior. ON ZACK KUNTZ AND NICK TARBURTON [All of the early enrollees] have been phenomenal. But I expect that of those six guys. They came in, we evaluated them, we analyzed them and we said, OK, here's what you need. We gave them a checklist and they just check it off. Both of them have been phenome- nal about that. We had five nutrition classes, and the six guys have one, so they're getting some really good indi- vidual treatment from Kayla about maximizing that. So she's been a big benefit to making sure Zack's up, mak- ing sure Nick's down, Jesse [Luketa] is coming down a little bit as well. And then obviously with Isaiah [Humphries] and with Trent [Gordon] and those guys, we've got to make sure that they're strong and they're maximizing their lean mass. So it's been good watching that happen. They're very motivated. ■ F O O T B A L L Barkley highlights Nittany Lions' showing at NFL Combine There was never much doubt that Saquon Barkley would emerge as one of the stars of this year's NFL Scouting Combine. In addition to his on-field performances, the 6-foot-0, 233-pound running back had been a weight room standout for the duration of his three years at Penn State. And the two months that he spent honing his considerable physical abilities after wrapping up his college career in the Fiesta Bowl were only going to help. Heading into the combine, which took place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indi- anapolis from Feb. 27 to March 5, Penn State strength coach Dwight Galt pre- dicted that Barkley would excel. "We're real excited for Saquon," Galt said. "We know he's going to do really well and represent us and himself really well. So we're excited to see him [showcase] what all of us already know he can do." That excitement proved to be entirely justified. One of eight Nittany Lions who traveled to Indy, Barkley turned in a se- ries of impressive performances. He posted 29 reps at 225 pounds in the bench press on the first day of the event, and he returned the following day with a 41-inch vertical leap, tops among the in- vited running backs. According to Ro- toworld.com, Barkley's vertical leap was eighth-best by a running back since 2006. The historical average is 35 inches. In the 40-yard dash, Barkley's first attempt was clocked at 4.41 seconds unofficially. Despite a slight stumble on his second attempt, he turned in another excellent time, 4.42 sec- onds unofficially. It was later announced that his official time was 4.40 flat. Barkley's 40-yard time was excep- tional for a player of his size. Since 2000, only three running backs weigh- ing 230 pounds or more have run a faster 40: Beanie Wells, Mario Fannin and Knile Davis. None of those players came close to Barkley's 41-inch vertical leap. The NFL Network's Mike Mayock was dazzled by Barkley's performance. "Running 4.4 at 233 pounds, to me, is way more impressive than John Ross's 4.22," Mayock said, referring to the for- mer Washington wide receiver who pro- duced a record-setting time at the combine last year before being taken ninth overall by Cincinnati. Barkley could have called it quits at that point and been fine, but he participated in every on-field workout. Scouts lauded his tech- nique, especially in the passing game, as he to- taled about a half- dozen routes without a single drop. "He was phenomenal in the testing portion, and I thought the workout was even better than he tested," said Daniel SAQUON BARKLEY Steve Manuel

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