I’ve been a fan of the Penn State Nittany Lions since the 1995 Rose Bowl when Ki-Jana Carter scored an 83-yard touchdown on the team’s first offensive play of the game. They went on to defeat Oregon in that game 38-20. My love for the team never faltered through the years, the ups, the downs, the drama. (We’re not here to discuss Sandusky.) While many of PSU’s star players were defensive standouts, Saquon Barkley changed the game when he joined the team in 2015.
From Whitehall HS to Penn State University: The Beginning
Saquon committed to Penn State in February of 2014. He was a four-star recruit out of Whitehall High School, where he racked up 3,646 and 63 touchdowns from his sophomore to senior year. His freshman year at Penn State saw immediate action as a true freshman, rushing for 1,076 yards on 182 carries. He received praise for his freshman year performance and was awarded second-team All-Big Ten and named BTN.com Freshman of the Year.
In his sophomore year, my favorite of his three seasons, he helped lead the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten Championship with victories over Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio State, Iowa, and eventually Wisconsin in the championship game. He secured Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year honors, as well as Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten. By the end of this season, Barkley had set PSU records for most rushing yards by a freshman (1,076) and by a sophomore (1,496).
His junior year, and subsequent final year with Penn State, saw him carry the ball 217 times for 1,271 and 18 touchdowns. Most notably, during the Big Ten home opener against Indiana, Barkley had a mediocre rushing performance but contributed in other ways. An opening kickoff return of 97 yards for a touchdown, four catches for 52 yards, and a 16-yard touchdown pass to receiver DaeSean Hamilton, made him the first player in Big Ten history to record a kickoff return and passing touchdown in the same game. The Nittany Lions would go on to the Fiesta Bowl against Washington, securing a 35-28 victory, before Saquon would forgo his senior year and declare for the 2018 NFL Draft.
With The Second Pick In The 2018 NFL Draft, The New York Giants select, Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State:
I remember this draft vividly. My mother, a New Yorker by birth and avid fan of the New York Giants would not stop bragging about the Giants taking Saquon and how great they were going to be with him on their team. To make matters worse, our beloved Eagles did not have our first pick, until the second round when we selected tight end Dallas Goedert. I could not stop complaining to my wife about how much I wanted to see Saquon in an Eagles jersey. To be fair, we were coming off of a Super Bowl victory, we had LeGarrett Blount and Jay Ajayi, so our running back room at the time, seemed secure.
In six years with the Giants, Saquon never amounted to much more than a role player on a mediocre team. He was named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2018, had 2 Pro Bowl selections, and broke several Giants records in his first two seasons. But ultimately, that’s it, that’s all he was able to accomplish. Before the start of last season, the Giants decided to award their quarterback, Daniel Jones, with a lucrative contract, while placing the franchise tag on Saquon and allowing him to explore free agency at the end of the 2023 season. Let’s take this moment to once again thank the New York Giants front office for the biggest bonehead move of the century!
For Me, The Dream Finally Comes True! Saquon is a Philadelphia Eagle:
March 13, 2024. The date my dream came true. Saquon signed a three-year $37.75 million deal with the Birds. Saquon had expressed his disdain for negotiations with his former team, before signing with Philadelphia. The Giants, at one point, had told Saquon he needed to prove his value on the open market, which he described as a “slap in the face”. But I digress from talking about the blue and red team with a state identity crisis. We all watched this season, as Saquon performed his career, including the moment against the Jags pictured above. I think I can speak for every Birds fan out there, any time Jalen handed the ball off to Barkley, we were all on the edge of our seats waiting for him to break another 40, 50, or 60-yard touchdown run.
This season has been magical watching the former Penn State standout running the ball for our beloved Birds. Saquon broke 6 franchise records in his first season with the team, including the most rushing yards in a season (2,005) and most 100-yard rushing games in a season with 12. He had a career high 255 yards against the Rams in week 12, and a career high in yards and touchdowns. This career season helped us achieve a 14-3 record, a number two seed, and a Super Bowl 59 appearance. This proved to many analysts out there, that Saquon was STILL one of the best running backs in the league.
And Here We Are, Super Bowl LIX In New Orleans:
As I type this, we’re just 3 days away from Super Bowl 59. Our Philadelphia Eagles facing the Kansas City Chiefs for the second time in 3 years. We all remember how the last game ended, with Harrison Butker nailing a late field goal to put KC up 38-35, and then a failed hail-mary attempt by Jalen would end our chances at a second Super Bowl championship. But as the Birds enter this game with this year’s best running back, and a player, that I have known since his days at Penn State, who was ALWAYS capable of having seasons like this, it’s hard not to think that this year will be OUR year and we bring another Lombardi Trophy back to the City of Brotherly Love. Dare I say, that Saquon Barkley could even be this year’s Super Bowl MVP?? We’ll have to wait and see, but until then, WE ARE PENN STATE and FLY EAGLES FLY!
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