Will Saquon Barkley become another NFL Hall of Famer like Franco Harris, or a bust like Ki-Jana, Blair Thomas, Curtis Enis, et. al.?
... Barkley will have to reverse Nittany Lion history
So much so that the New York Giants selected him as the second player chosen in the 2018 NFl draft. Giants General Manager Dave Gettleman was effusive in praising the running back prior to the draft. After all, Barkley has demonstrated that he could do it all. Has he ever seen a player with such skills?
"In 10 years, no … He can string together moves and get in and out of stuff ... He's unique. There's no doubt about it. He's big. He's powerful. He can step on the gas at different levels of speed. And, he catches the heck out of the ball, and he sees the blitz pickup. He's unique."
So, if that is the case, why are so many people criticizing the Giants’ selection? First, there is the history factor, and Penn State running backs, even those who were top five or top ten selections, have not fared well.
In fact, despite its great college tradition, Penn State has not placed many players in the NFL Hall of Fame. Only six.
These include two running backs, but none who have played in the past 45 years. Lenny Moore, who played for Coach Rip Engle in the 1950s, is one. Franco Harris, who had an outstanding career with the Steeler during the 1970s, is the other.
In fact, Engle, the native of Meyersdale, Pa. who coached the Nittany Lions for just 15 years, has two NFL Hall of Famers, Dave Robinson and Moore, while Paterno, who coached for 45 years, has just three: Steelers LB Jack Ham, Tennessee/Houston lineman Mike Munchak, and Harris.
The Failures
Penn State has featured running backs who have been taken very high in the draft. These have included Ki Jana Carter, Blair Thomas, Curtis Enis, and D.J. Dozier. All of them have been flops.
Why? Hard to say, just that only one running back from Penn State has excelled in the NFL, and that is Curt Warner in the 1980s.
Ki Jana Carter
In 1995, Carter was selected as the top pick overall by the Cincinnati Bengals. He has been called by one publication as “one of the biggest draft busts of all time.”
Part of Carter’s problem was injuries. The Bengals looked at him as a can’t miss pick, but he was hurt immediately and never demonstrated the potential that he showed at Penn State.
Carter had 415 touches at Penn State for 3,001 yards and 34 TDs, averaging 7.1 yards a touch, 7.2 yards a carry as a runner in just over two seasons at PSU. He was a consensus All-American after his junior season.
The Bengals kept Carter for his first contract, and then he flitted around among the Redskins, Packers, and Saints, seven years overall. He gained just 1,144 yards during those seven years, so that is the reason for the greatest bust moniker.
Blair Thomas
Thomas was taken by the New York Jets as the second overall pick in 1990. The Jets were as effusive in their praise of Thomas as the Bengals were five years later with Carter.
Thomas’ selection was labeled this way by a publication listing the worst draft picks in history: “Thomas simply had one of the worst careers for a top three pick in the history of the league.”
Thomas was a great running back for two years at Penn State, touching the ball 654 times fr 3,778 yards and 23 TDs, 5.8 a carry.
With the Jets, Thomas was never able to become the marquee back, rushing for just 2,000 yards in five seasons. That was another horrible disappointment for Jets’ fans.
Curtis Enis
Enis demonstrated enough potential that the Chicago Bears selected him as the fifth pick overall in the 1998 draft. He played three years for the Bears and one for the Browns, garnering only 1,497 yards in that time, just 3.3. yards a carry.
That was disappointing since he had 622 touches at PSU for 3,762 yards and 38 TDs, 6.0 yards per touch. He was also a consensus first-time All-American.
Barkley
To me, Barkley has only one mark against him. That is his performance in the second half of the 2017 season, when he was named the Big Ten’s Offensive Player of the Year.
As a Penn State alumnus, I was rooting for him to win the Heisman Trophy. In fact, he was a lock to win it based on a poll in late October.
Then, like many Penn State running backs, he collapsed against top competition. He recorded just 44 yards rushing against Ohio State in Penn State’s first loss, then a week later had just 83 in a loss at Michigan State. As a consequence, he was not even a finalist for the Heisman.
Which brings us to another problem. Perhaps the problem with PSU running backs is that they really do not play against top defenses. They can rack up big numbers against the weaker teams, but not against the best.
Perhaps that is what happened with Carter, Thomas, and Enis.
Hopefully, that will not happen with Barkley, but I am not certain. He could be the next Franco Harris.
Remember something about Harris. He had lackluster numbers coming out of Penn State, just over 2,000 yards in three seasons, but that was more because he was constantly in Joe Paterno’s doghouse. Like with Michael Jordan and the saying that the only guy who could hold him down was Dean Smith, the only coach who could hold Harris back was Joe Paterno.
That is not the case with Barkley. He has shown tremendous potential, but the only concern there is with who is going to play QB. He should do pretty well in the NFL — though I have been wrong previously.
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