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Penn State is where Saquon Barkley made a name for himself and he came close to becoming a coach there this offseason. While it didn’t come to fruition, the New York Giants running back attempted to head back to his roots at Penn State earlier this offseason.
“Saquon reached out to me and his plan was to come and spend spring ball with us as a coach,” [Penn State head coach James] Franklin told the New York Post. “He wanted to sit in all of the coaches’ meetings to see how we came up with the game plan, how we watch film and all the things we discuss. He wanted to be able to learn football and view it through a different lens because he thought that would help his growth, and he’d be able to go back and have a bigger impact with the Giants. He could see how coaches assess things and why.”
Back on March 18, Penn State was scheduled to begin their spring camp. However, due to the coronavirus, the spring camp wasn’t able to take place. Therefore, Barkley wasn’t able to join his alma mater as he intended.
Nevertheless, it’s a positive sign for the Giants that Barkley was willing to improve by any means necessary. In his first two seasons, the former Nittany Lion has evolved into one of the best running backs in the NFL. He recently drew praise from Tiki Barber—the Giants’ all-time leading rusher.
As a matter of fact, Barkley has posted back-to-back seasons of 1,400-plus yards from scrimmage. Despite his stellar campaigns thus far, Barkley has loftier expectations for himself moving forward.