Penn State Football: Top-25 players of the James Franklin Era
By Brad Weiss
Penn State Football: Top-25 players of the James Franklin Era
806. . Running Back. Nittany Lions . Saquon Barkley. 1. player
When we started making the list of the top-25 players to play for James Franklin at Penn State, we were able to start at No. 1 and work our way down, given that the No. 1 player was an absolute no-brainer. That is because Saquon Barkley was by far the best player that James Franklin has ever coached, and he is widely regarded as one of the best running back in the history of the Big Ten.
First breaking out onto the scene in 2015, Barkley rushed for over 1,000 yards for the Nittany Lions, averaging nearly six yards of carry, and scoring seven times. Barkley would be named second-team All-Big Ten as a freshman, and across his final two years at the school, he would rush for over 2,700 yards and 36 touchdowns. Barkley was twice named both the winner of the Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year Award, and the Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year Award.
Penn State Football: Ranking the top 20 wins in program history. dark. Next
The dynamic running back finished out his career as the school’s all-time leader and all-purpose yards and is No. 2 in program history in rushing yards behind Evan Royster. During his time and Happy Valley, Barkley set or broke numerous records, including most rushing touchdowns, and most total touchdowns, and played so well that the New York Giants took him with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, a draft slot not normally reserved for running backs.