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Saquon Barkley Poised to be a Darkhorse Heisman Candidate

By George Stockburger

Oct 17, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley (26) hurdles over Ohio State Buckeyes safety Tyvis Powell (23) as linebacker Dante Booker (33) and safety Vonn Bell (11) defend in the second quarter at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 17, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley (26) hurdles over Ohio State Buckeyes safety Tyvis Powell (23) as linebacker Dante Booker (33) and safety Vonn Bell (11) defend in the second quarter at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports /
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The names Christian McCaffrey, Deshaun Watson, and Baker Mayfield will lead the Heisman Trophy watch-lists as the college football season grows ever closer. Both Watson and McCaffrey were top three candidates last year, but were beaten out by Alabama running back Derrick Henry.

Through all the obvious predictions for this years Heisman Trophy, a couple of names sneak into the pool of candidates. Some are well-known. Some seemingly come out of nowhere on the international scale.

Penn State running back Saquon Barkley burst onto the scene in Happy Valley last year as a freshman. He rushed for over 1,000 yards and set Penn State records for freshman and running backs.

With new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead coming over from Fordham, the Nittany Lions offense will be transitioning to a more modern college style of offense. A high tempo, no huddle offense that will rely on moving the ball through the running backs and letting the quarterback make quick, accurate decisions.

As a freshman, Saquon Barkley was fourth in the Big 10 in rushing yards. With Ezekiel Elliott now in the NFL, Barkley is in prime position to take over the conference rushing title in 2016.

Numbers can be deceiving though. Fortunately, this is not comparable to seeing Big 12 players (Corey Coleman) put up over-inflated numbers. Barkley can be just as electrifying as any of those Big 12 weapons and put up the numbers against defenses such as Ohio State and Michigan.

Here’s a look at some of Saquon Barkley’s insane highlights from his first college football season.

You can see his outstanding athleticism, vision, and explosiveness in all of those plays. He consistently shows an ability to jump over linebackers and fight off defensive backs.

All of those tools are elite and could be some of the best in all of college football.

While he did not play in Penn State’s spring game (a decision made by coaches to avoid injury) he did have a discussion with former Nittany Lion Navarro Bowman prior to kickoff. Bowman whispered to Barkley, “I’ll see you in a couple of years.”

When making your sleeper Heisman Trophy picks, don’t forget Penn State running back Saquon Barkley.

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