Barkley is best athlete ever for PS Football

[Richard the LIONhearted]

• He has top speed as a tb - i.e., Rose Bowl 79 yarder
• He is a great receiver - Big Ten championship game TD grab
• He is a great blocker - every time McSorley looks to throw deep, Barkley is in the game picking up LBers or chipping on ends.
• He has incredible ability to hurdle players in open field

All this and looks to be about 5% body fat. He takes the crown from LaVar as best athlete for FB.

 

[sluggo72]

that's a pretty big statement, there were lots of great great athletes at PSU.

 

[Player2BNamedL8r]

He certainly has earned a place in the conversation. LA is still the gold standard IMO, but I can't dispute much of what you're saying.

 

[razpsu]

Please let's slow down a little bit.

 

[Lion8286]

smh

 

[Raffycorn]

I'm not sure that it's too early or that we should slow down from discussing whether Barkley is the best running back and/or best overall athlete at Penn State. He's already been here for half of his eligibility, and we've seen him for two of the three years that he'll play here. How much longer do we need to wait?

 

[Bobtown Bart]

Richard are you related to Steel Curtain over on the Lair?

 

[bison13]

Im not even willing to give Lavar that honor. Brian Miller and Joe Jurevicius were also exceptional athletes

 

[LionDeNittany]

• He has top speed as a tb - i.e., Rose Bowl 79 yarder
• He is a great receiver - Big Ten championship game TD grab
• He is a great blocker - every time McSorley looks to throw deep, Barkley is in the game picking up LBers or chipping on ends.
• He has incredible ability to hurdle players in open field

View embedded media

All this and looks to be about 5% body fat. He takes the crown from LaVar as best athlete for FB.

Was the Rose Bowl 79 yarder an example of top speed? Because I think it was sort of the opposite.

LdN

 

[PSU Soupy]

Mark Rubin best athlete ever at PSU........

I think that Barkley's SPARQ numbers will be through the roof and possibly the highest ever at PSU. Lavar and Courtney Brown would need to be in the conversation , but I do not disagree with the premise of the OP, Barkley's speed, strength and balance are off the charts.

 

[LaJolla Lion]

He's way up there and anyone asking you to slow it down is blind as a bat. Dude is 5-11 225 shit brickhouse that runs a 4.3 and makes people look silly in the open field. Hard to say who the "BEST" really is, but is EASILY in any conversation about that group.

 

[heckmans]

• He has top speed as a tb - i.e., Rose Bowl 79 yarder
• He is a great receiver - Big Ten championship game TD grab
• He is a great blocker - every time McSorley looks to throw deep, Barkley is in the game picking up LBers or chipping on ends.
• He has incredible ability to hurdle players in open field

View embedded media

All this and looks to be about 5% body fat. He takes the crown from LaVar as best athlete for FB.

When answering a True-False question, words like "All" and "ever" are generally clues that the correct answer is false. He may be, but it's tough to compare different eras, positions, and account for supporting casts & coaching

 

[BobPSU92]

There's athleticism and then there's athleticism combined with instincts on the football field. Lavar is the guy who looked on a different level on the field more than anyone I've ever seen in a Penn State uniform. Watch his highlights. He was a freak.

 

[joeparules]

Not disagreeing with your premise, but I would hope most RBs could have made that catch in the B1G CCG. Trace threw it right on the money. Now the acceleration SB showed to pull away and be that open was unreal.

 

[razpsu]

Well he will have a real Good offensive line and offense for a full season. Let's see how he does before being compared to the best. We are not temple for Petes sake. I'm not ready to put him up there just yet. He is good but still needs to improve.

 

[uPBRmeASAP]

that's a pretty big statement, there were lots of great great athletes at PSU.

Definitely a big statement, but when you look at the record board in the weight room it's absolutely phenomenal.

4.38 forty, 4.00 NFL shuttle (team record), 38" vertical, 415lbs bench, 600lbs squat, 390lbs power clean (team record).

You probably couldnt find any athlete in PSU football history with that speed, jumping, and strength combo.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Cameron (Derek) Wake and Justin King too; both have top ten all time performances at the NFL combine (high jump; 40).

But, Barkely is a monster - no doubt.

 

[Still in State College]

I'm not sure where he stands on pure athleticism. There are many ways to measure those qualities.

There is no doubt he is fantastic.

His numbers on the field would be even better if the running game was of a different design in my opinion. I hate the fact that he gets the handoff when standing still 90% of the time.

 

[Player2BNamedL8r]

Well he will have a real Good offensive line and offense for a full season. Let's see how he does before being compared to the best. We are not temple for Petes sake. I'm not ready to put him up there just yet. He is good but still needs to improve.

Not sure I agree with your overall statement. I'm sure he would agree that he can improve, but the kid has put up incredible numbers with a subpar OL, so I think it's more fair to say he's already "great" (not just good).

 

[Obliviax]

• He has top speed as a tb - i.e., Rose Bowl 79 yarder
• He is a great receiver - Big Ten championship game TD grab
• He is a great blocker - every time McSorley looks to throw deep, Barkley is in the game picking up LBers or chipping on ends.
• He has incredible ability to hurdle players in open field

View embedded media

All this and looks to be about 5% body fat. He takes the crown from LaVar as best athlete for FB.

I don't disagree but "best ever" is so hard to quantify as each position takes so much different skill sets. Irve Panky, for example, was a great athlete but how do you compare him to M-Rob, Buttle, LeVar, or whatever? Having said that, he's the most exciting PSU player I've ever seen.

 

[sluggo72]

Definitely a big statement, but when you look at the record board in the weight room it's absolutely phenomenal.

4.38 forty, 4.00 NFL shuttle (team record), 38" vertical, 415lbs bench, 600lbs squat, 390lbs power clean (team record).

You probably couldnt find any athlete in PSU football history with that speed, jumping, and strength combo.

there is no doubting his abilities, but as others has mentioned, it is tough to compare athletes of different areas.
If you wanted to look at someone with speed, jumping, and strength combo's, I 'd start with Sean Farrell, and then look at Mike Hartenstein. But it would be tough to compare because of era's and those guys being linemen. But they both had speed, jumping ability and strength, and were tremendous athletes. And in no way is that a slight to SB.

 

[Raffycorn]

IMO, Saquon is the best athlete we have ever had at the running back position, and I'm tempted to say that (stats aside) he's the best running back we've had at Penn State.

As for best ever athlete at Penn State, Courtney Brown was unbelievable - 6'5", 270 and ran a 4.52 with a 37" vertical. Lavar is up there, too, as is Cameron Wake. I think Barkley is in that pound for pound upper echelon, too, but what those guys were able to do at their size carries a bit more weight with me.

 

[WDLion]

• He has top speed as a tb - i.e., Rose Bowl 79 yarder
• He is a great receiver - Big Ten championship game TD grab
• He is a great blocker - every time McSorley looks to throw deep, Barkley is in the game picking up LBers or chipping on ends.
• He has incredible ability to hurdle players in open field

View embedded media

All this and looks to be about 5% body fat. He takes the crown from LaVar as best athlete for FB.

There is no best ever.

 

[Howie'81]

Please let's slow down a little bit.

Why? Barkley is a sensational athlete. No more evidence is needed.

 

[Howie'81]

Was the Rose Bowl 79 yarder an example of top speed? Because I think it was sort of the opposite.

LdN

Guess you missed that burst between the 30 and 40 yard lines.

 

[NorCalcLion]

IMHO Jesse Arnelle was the beat athlete to play at Penn State. He at one time held the season and career reception records in football and the season and career scoring records in basketball . Records that stood for over 50 years until Taylor Battle
broke them. He led Penn State to a Final 4 appearance . Arnelle may have been an All American in both basketball & football and was also an outstanding track and field athlete. No other Penn State football player excelled at 3 sports. I admit one must give consideration that today's athletes are bigger, stronger and faster.

 

[LionDeNittany]

Guess you missed that burst between the 30 and 40 yard lines.

That I would call "low end speed" or "acceleration". The things that make a RB special.

LdN

 

[BobPSU92]

IMHO Jesse Arnelle was the beat athlete to play at Penn State. He at one time held the season and career reception records in football and the season and career scoring records in basketball . Records that stood for over 50 years until Taylor Battle
broke them. He led Penn State to a Final 4 appearance . Arnelle may have been an All American in both basketball & football and was also an outstanding track and field athlete. No other Penn State football player excelled at 3 sports. I admit one must give consideration that today's athletes are bigger, stronger and faster.

Doesn't he also hold the career record for time served as a trustee?

 

[Obliviax]

That I would call "low end speed" or "acceleration". The things that make a RB special.

LdN

To be fair on that 79 yarder, Barkley had run about 100 yards already on that play. At the same time, USC had some world class athletes themselves in the secondary. You also have to remember that Barkley is carrying 225 lbs so he can also have power.

The one that alarmed me was tOSU's punter running down our starting CB from behind on the blocked punt!

 

[Howie'81]

To be fair on that 79 yarder, Barkley had run about 100 yards already on that play. At the same time, USC had some world class athletes themselves in the secondary. You also have to remember that Barkley is carrying 225 lbs so he can also have power.

The one that alarmed me was tOSU's punter running down our starting CB from behind on the blocked punt!

OSU's punter has 4.5 speed. Australian rugby player, I believe.

 

[razpsu]

If he gets 1st team all American this year like so many other great penn state athletes then I will agree he is up there with the best of them. Until then let's give the guy a break and other best athletes that we have had more respect and let barkely develop to be the best. In other words I'm not ready to put him near the top yet!

 

[Howie'81]

If he gets 1st team all American this year like so many other great penn state athletes then I will agree he is up there with the best of them. Until then let's give the guy a break and other best athletes that we have had more respect and let barkely develop to be the best. In other words I'm not ready to put him near the top yet!

Okay, but many people like me think he's already earned that recognition. Forget the All American crap. You telling me he wasn't one of the top 2 tailbacks in the nation last season? I think the Rose Bowl, the Iowa game, and many other games proved that.

 

[LionDeNittany]

To be fair on that 79 yarder, Barkley had run about 100 yards already on that play. At the same time, USC had some world class athletes themselves in the secondary. You also have to remember that Barkley is carrying 225 lbs so he can also have power.

The one that alarmed me was tOSU's punter running down our starting CB from behind on the blocked punt!

I guess people are misunderstanding my post.
Barkley obviously has excellent talent.
However, I wouldn't use his exceptional run vs. USC as an example of "top end speed" because that run was all about his ability to elude tackles and accelerate.
His top end speed shows more on his receptions.

LdN

 

[oracle11]

These things are fun but hardly definitive ,so I will play.
Bruce Clark was the only player that Joe said could have played any position on the field. He also held his high school record for the pole vault. Pretty impressive for a defense tackle.
Mike Guman was the only player that he ever had who could have gone both ways in the modern era , according to Joe.
Jesse Arnelle has already been mentioned. Another football/basketball player and football All-American was Bob Mittinger

 

[Obliviax]

Okay, but many people like me think he's already earned that recognition. Forget the All American crap. You telling me he wasn't one of the top 2 tailbacks in the nation last season? I think the Rose Bowl, the Iowa game, and many other games proved that.

Agree...if he played for tOSU or Michigan last year, he's have been a heisman finalist. we were way under rated last year. I suspect that will be different this year. Also, it will be nice have two starting tackles and a passing game that is respected for the entire season.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

Mark Rubin best athlete ever at PSU........

I think that Barkley's SPARQ numbers will be through the roof and possibly the highest ever at PSU. Lavar and Courtney Brown would need to be in the conversation , but I do not disagree with the premise of the OP, Barkley's speed, strength and balance are off the charts.

Mark Rubin is a fine athlete, but it'll take more than hammering Hedge Funders and other worthies from the "Heads I Win, Tales You Lose" financial class to impress me.

 

[razpsu]

Joe said kwlalick and Robinson were best athletes he ever had. Above 40 tother athletes that were awesome.

Barkely was third team all
American. I think he will do better this year and become truly great. I'm not going to disrespect any other athlete and say barkely is the best ever. There are so many that were awesome and the best in the country! Barkley can get there this year.

 

[HazletonLion]

A lot of people forget about Cappy , very unselfish player, always keyed on -- like
Barkley, rarely got caught from behind, good blocker and receiver. Cappy also played DB as a soph. behing Lydell and Franco. But Barkley ( to me) is a Barry Sanders type back.

 

[artsandletters]

OSU's punter has 4.5 speed. Australian rugby player, I believe.

And had a slight angle. And Haley took some time getting in stride after picking up the ball near to the ground. And who gives a crap. Haley got there first.

 

[BBrown]

Im not even willing to give Lavar that honor. Brian Miller and Joe Jurevicius were also exceptional athletes

Exactly. I think we had a lot of great athletes that played football. Mark Rubin can put his name at the top of the list as well.