Saquon Barkley snubbed as a Heisman Trophy finalist

Saquon Barkley got snubbed when the Heisman Trophy finalists were announced Monday night. 

Huge things were expected from Penn State’s Saquon Barkley entering the 2017 season. After two stellar seasons in Happy Valley, Barkley was primed for an award-filled season. A favorite for the Heisman Trophy just a few short weeks ago, Barkley was snubbed by not being named one of the three finalists for the award.

Barkley was all but a lock to get an invite to New York City, however, struggles in a few games near the end of the season hurt his chances. Still, It’s hard to fathom Barkley not named among the best players in college football.

Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield made himself a frontrunner to win the award with some huge numbers over the past few games and was a clear finalist. However, there was some mystery as to who the others would be.

In the end, two quarterbacks — Mayfield and 2016 Heisman winner Lamar Jackson — were invited to the award ceremony. Stanford’s Bryce Love was the only running back named in the trio.

Having Barkley not invited as a Heisman finalist has to be disappointing both to him and the Penn State football program as a whole. Barkley is an electric player who is a threat to make a big play each time he touches the ball.

Unfortunately, Penn State struggled in the run game this year and Barkley, particularly in the last few games of the season, saw his numbers drop. The star running back rushed for over 100 yards just once in the last five contests of the regular season.

He finished with 1,134 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns.

Despite his rushing numbers being down, Barkley still found ways to impact games. He made a career-high 47 receptions for 594 yards. He also was a big key for the Nittany Lions on special teams — racking up 426 kickoff return yards with two touchdowns.

Barkley started the game at Ohio State with an incredible 97-yard kick return for a touchdown. Prior to that he opened up the Indiana game with a 98-yard kickoff return touchdown.

While missing out on a chance at the Heisman is disappointing, Barkley will go down as one of the best running backs ever at Penn State. The junior is already considered to be a first-round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, but he choose to return to Penn State for his senior season.

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Regardless, Barkley has one more game remaining in the 2017 season. He and the Nittany Lions will face off with the Washington Huskies on December 30 in the Fiesta Bowl.