Ranking Penn State Football’s 4 best freshman seasons as Kalen King emerges

No. 1: RB Saquon Barkley 

After seeing limited action in his first two college games, Barkley broke out in a primetime game at home against Rutgers in week 3 and never looked back.

Barkley would go on to rush for 1,076 yards and seven touchdowns, also amassing 161 yards receiving and a touchdown out of the backfield. His speed and elusiveness was on display from the onset and it was clear Penn State Football had a special back.

In rushing for 1,076 yards, he broke D.J Dozier’s 32-year-old school freshman rushing record in the season finale against Michigan State. Dozier’s record of 1,002 yards as a freshman was set in 1983.

The Whitehall alum was selected second-team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media and named to the  Football Writers Association of America, Sporting News and USA Today’s Freshman All-America team.

He would go on to become one of, if not the best running backs in Penn State Football history and was eventually selected No.2 overall by the New York Giants in the 2018 NFL Draft.