Saquon Barkley embraces debate, not hype as Heisman, national title talk swirls
Penn State's star rusher loves to argue, just not about whether he's the nation's best player
By
Dennis Dodd
•
8 min read
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Saquon Barkley wants to argue -- with the squawkers on TV, with his roomies, with you if you care to take him on.
"With my teammates, I love arguing about sports," Penn State's generational tailback said. "Like Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless, that's something I aspire to. I can envision myself being an analyst."
That's probably a Saquon Barkley few can envision. A demanding broadcast journalism major that doesn't exactly match up to the time demands of major college football has enlightened the player some consider the best in the nation.
"I'm aware that football is not forever," Barkley said. "Sports are not forever."
But at this moment, halfway through the 2017 season, it's time to take stock of the violence and style of Barkley's game that speaks the loudest. The jump cuts, the reads, the all-purpose part of his game that has grown like his massive thighs.
Anything but the pick-a-side confrontation that rules, entertains and defines -- for better or worse -- our modern world.
"They get in heated discussions about everything," coach James Franklin said of a Barkley-infused locker room. "He and [linebacker] Jason Cabinda and [safety] Marcus Allen -- heated arguments and discussions. The age-old discussion: Who was better, LeBron [James] or Michael Jordan?"
"LeBron and Kobe," Barkley counters. "How do you feel about Kyrie Irving going to the Celtics?
"It's basically like you, your friends sitting in your house and a controversial topic comes up and you argue about it."
These days, that can be a career. But before Barkley gets close to a sports roundtable yapfest, he will be expected to ravage the Big Ten for two more months at least.
It is on that hot topic Barkley demurs. He becomes a self-conscious Saquon when asked to talk about himself. The whole best player discussion is left for others.
Asked the weakest part of his game, Barkley says, "I'm so hard on myself, it's almost everything."
This is a kid so uncertain of his ability that he intended on stowing his amazing hurdling talents coming out of Whitehall High School near Allentown, Pennsylvania.
For safety reasons, it's a penalty to jump over a player in Pennsylvania high school football.
"So you're telling me it's illegal in high school and you're doing it, and it's legal in college and you're not doing it?" Franklin asked his star.
Common sense prevailed.
"There's other players who have hurdled players once or twice in their career, but this guy does it consistently," Franklin added, "and this guy does it against really good players."
Enjoy just a couple of Barkley's signature moves.
What was a surprise a year or two ago is now an expectation. As a sophomore in 2016, Barkley was the Big Ten's offensive player of the year helping lead the Nittany Lions to their first Big Ten title in eight seasons.
Whatever conference, College Football Playoff and Heisman Trophy hopes Barkley and Penn State have this season will likely be decided in the next three weeks -- at home against Michigan, at Ohio State, at Michigan State.
"Everybody wants to talk about it," Franklin said. "I'm not sitting here saying we stick our heads in the sand and we're not aware of that. I don't see how that helps us as coaches, helps us as players."
Of course, that's the party line, but so is this when Penn State's coach is asked if his smooth tailback is the nation's best player.
"I don't think there is any doubt about it," Franklin said. "I've been doing this for 23 years in every major conference, including the NFL. I've never seen anything like him before -- the entire package."
After six games, that package has amassed 649 rushing yards, 395 receiving and increased duties as a kick returner. His 32.25-yard average on eight returns has him tied for fifth nationally.
In a gutty 21-19 win at Iowa last month, Barkley ran, caught and returned his way to a career-high 358 all-purpose yards. It was his latest Heisman statement.
Basically, he is this year's Christian McCaffrey, leading the country by averaging 217 all-purpose yards per game. As that true triple threat, Barkley is averaging more yards per touch (9.4) than McCaffrey did in his record-breaking all-purpose season in 2015 (3,894 yards).
Teams have flat-out decided to load the box and stop Barkley as a runner no matter what. Ten days ago, Northwestern did just that, limiting Barkley to 75 yards. The week before, Indiana stopped him for 56 yards on 20 carries.
"I'm all for it," Barkley said of the attention he gets. "I still am aware I'm still having an impact on the team."
It is on this subject that Franklin is as adamant. Fine, he says. Zoning in on Saquon is now a pick-your-poison solution.
"We're a one-back offense," Franklin said. "So you're talking about five offensive linemen and a tight end -- six blockers. Every defense is trying to find a way to get seven guys in the box … If you're going to overload the box, we're going to throw the ball."
That explains quarterback Trace McSorley having a career year completing 67 percent of his throws and leading the Big Ten in passing.
Even though the Wildcats and Hoosiers slowed Barkley on the ground, he gouged Northwestern for a late 53-yard touchdown run in a 31-7 win. Indiana could load up all it wanted. Barkley took back the opening kickoff 98 yards, the first such score of his career.
Just when you thought it was time to lose faith in big-time college athletics, we have an upright citizen student who knows humble. The closest he gets to thinking about the NFL is Photoshopping on social media.
"There's a picture of me running in a Penn State uniform but people are so good they edit it with a Giants or Jets jersey," Barkley said. "It's pretty cool."
His parents are proud but of modest means. Barkley's father, Alibay, told Sports Illustrated he had a crack cocaine addiction and served a year in prison for gun possession. His mother, Tonya, works two jobs at times.
Trying to drum up interest, Saquon didn't know any better in high school than to cold call recruiters and emails them his highlights. He got the same response rate you'd expect of a door-to-door salesman. Next to nothing.
It is at this point that Barkley pulls out his phone. He has saved the email blast sent out to college coaches.
Hello coach:
My name is Saquon Barkley. I'm a senior running back at Whitehall High School in Coplay, Pennsylvania.
I just hope you can take time out of the day to watch my highlight tape. You won't regret it.
"I can't believe I said, 'You won't regret it,' Barkley said. "Why not? What's the worst that's going to happen? The worst thing is they won't respond."
Eventually, they did respond. Barkley had an early offer from Rutgers, but he really didn't blow up until a big game earlier in his high school junior season.
There were offers from the likes of Pittsburgh and Syracuse. The offensive line coach at North Carolina -- now offensive coordinator Chris Kapilovic -- wrote back asking for his phone number, address and GPA.
Bill O'Brien made an early Penn State offer before departing for the NFL. Franklin followed up.
"At the time, he was a good player that we didn't want to lose in-state, but I [didn't] think he was an elite-type player," he said.
A big senior year propelled Barkley to the top of just about everybody's wish lists. Just when you were losing faith comes a kid who listens. Barkley wasn't born when Barry Sanders was at his peak, but he pays attention when told Sanders was breaking ankles before the term "jump cut" was even invented.
"I've been doing that since I was a little kid," Barkley said. "But you can't get too jump cut happy … My dad told me growing up you never want to be like someone, you want to be yourself. I take pieces and parts of other people's games. I've watched Barry. I've watched Walter Payton. I've watched newer back like Le'Veon Bell, Adrian Peterson."
Just when you were losing faith comes a player with old-fashioned values. Barkley proudly owns every Penn State running back weightlifting record. It would mean a lot someday to have his accomplishments hang in the halls of Whitehall. Former NFL players Matt Millen (Penn State) and Dan Koppen (Boston College) are honored there.
"You walk into that fieldhouse and see it every day," Barkley said. "That's kind of a goal."
This being the Big Ten with its own network and this being Penn State, a national program, there long ceased to be Heisman "campaigns."
Instead, the Penn State marketing department has issued a series of stylish infographics. They pop up not only on Twitter but directly to the Facebook accounts of national media.
"It would be dumb for me to say that I don't ever want to win that award, because I'm a competitor," Barkley said. "But that's not the main award in my mind. There are other things I'd rather have than a Heisman Trophy.
"[Like] a natty."
Football may not be forever, but it has barely begun for Barkley. There is a business decision to be made at the end of this season.
"I told Saquon before the season started what I thought he should do," Franklin said.
That would be whether to leave for the NFL or stay and remain on track to graduate by next December in 3 ½ years.
The decision might seem obvious to some. It's not to Franklin, who won't reveal the substance of that preseason conversation.
"Saquon, out of high school, had very clear goals and objectives what he wanted to do," Franklin said. "He talked about the [weightlifting] record board, the Heisman Trophy, win a championship.
"There's a part of him that doesn't want to leave before he accomplishes those things."
For that, there is no argument.
