LeSean McCoy: Penn State Football’s Miles Sanders ‘a lot faster than I was’

Former Philadelphia Eagles running back, and Harrisburg native, LeSean McCoy has sky-high expectations for former Penn State Football standout Miles Sanders.

McCoy, who will play for his second consecutive Super Bowl ring Sunday for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, after hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs last year, believes the team that drafted him is in great hands with Sanders.

"“People try to compare us, but I think we’re a lot different,” McCoy told reporters. “He’s a lot faster than I was, I think, when I watch him play. I think he’s a lot faster than I was at my top speed. I think he has a nice size, I think he’s bigger than people give him credit for. He runs a lot tougher than people give him credit for.”"

Sanders, 5-foot-11 and 211 pounds, was named to his first Pro Bowl in 2020, his second NFL season and his most prolific to date. In 12 games this season, Sanders rushed for a career-high 867 yards and six touchdowns, including a pair of games where he rushed for over 100 yards and two games with two or more touchdowns.

In his lone season as a starter for the Nittany Lions, after emerging from Saquon Barkley’s shadow as a sophomore, Sanders rushed for 1,274 yards and nine touchdowns before being chosen in the second-round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

The two shifty running backs will forever be linked due to the fact that they played their high school and college football — McCoy at Pitt — before being drafted by the Eagles.

While McCoy is the Eagles’ all-time leading rusher, he believes that Sanders has what it takes to push for his franchise record.

“I think he’ll be the next franchise back for the Eagles,” McCoy added. “I really do. I think MIles is really, really good.”