Miles Sanders discusses struggles of following Saquon Barkley at Penn State
Former Penn State running back Miles Sanders recently opened up about his early struggles with playing behind Saquon Barkley.
Great running backs are hard to come by. The Penn State football program knows that well as it took a while for them to start landing some significant backfield prospects. In recent years, the Nittany Lions were fortunate to have one of the best running backs in football.
Saquon Barkley was a four-star prospect back in 2015. He was considered to be the second-best player to come out of Pennsylvania that year, and he decided to head to Pennsylvania State University. The Lions knew they were getting a stud, but Barkley turned out to be much more.
A shifty running back, great receiver, and an even better leader — Barkley was destined for greatness. And in three years, he established himself as one of the best Penn State football players in the program’s history. Fortunately for the Lions, they were able to land another highly-touted running back prospect just one season after gaining Barkley in Miles Sanders.
Unlike Barkley, Sanders was the number one player in the state. Considered to be a five-star stud according to 247 Sports’ composite, Sanders was the next best thing for Penn State’s backfield. But his High School reputation wasn’t enough for him to start right away in college.
Struggles in the shadow
As we know, Miles Sanders spent his first two years backing up one of college football’s best rushers. While Sanders played his part well as he patiently waited his turn to take over — it wasn’t as easy as he made it seem. Recently, the former Nittany Lion opened up about his college experience in a letter that he penned for Philadelphia Eagles fans.
Sanders has no hard feelings or jealousy towards Saquon Barkley. In fact, he admires him. However, just because the two backs got along, doesn’t mean that Sanders was easily getting through his first two seasons in Happy Valley.
Being that Sanders was the number one running back in his class, the idea of taking a backseat to somebody wasn’t easy. As Sanders stated, “it was tough to go from being the man in high school — one of the top backs in the state ready to blow up in college — to … being a backup.”
By year three, Sanders was gifted the keys to the Penn State backfield. But of course, he knew he couldn’t shake the Barkley comparisons. Fortunately, Sanders took a word of advice from the eventual second-overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. “Just go out there and be you,” is what Barkley advised Sanders to do before he packed up and left for New York.
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In hindsight, Sanders appreciates his journey. Not only did he learn from one of the best, but he also enters into his pro career without tons of miles on him. By his third year, Sanders didn’t even amass over 31 carries in a single season. Sanders mentioned that sitting behind Barkley was “the most difficult thing I’ve gone through in my football career.” For that, he’s now thankful.