Curt Warner may actually be Penn State's best all-around RB ever!

[Jerademan]

I know, everyone's first though for PSU's GOAT RB is that Saquon is without a doubt the best, and I wouldn't argue with you; but.....watch these film highlights. Curt Warner was great on every aspect of the game and made Todd Blackledge look better than he actually was. I for one would be in favor of our QB taking snaps on the line of scrimmage as it gives the RB more time and space to see a hole or blocker to follow.

Warner had his best games against the biggest opponents such as Nebraska (ran for over 200 yards in both Lincoln and State College), USC (had more yards and TDs than Marcus Allen who won the Heisman that year), and of course Georgia for the national championship in 1982 (again outplayed that years Heiman winner - Hershel Walker). Unlike Saquon who lost lots of yards running in the backfield looking for the home-run play, Curt just went and got what he could and made his own extra yards on shear determination! Enjoy these highlights.

 

[mn78psu83]

The PSU OL performance on the road against Nebraska in 1981 is one of the best - if not the best - performances in PSU history. Warner had 238 yards in that game. At the time, it was the most yardage an opposing back had gained in Lincoln against the Cornhuskers. And yes, Curt Warner is in the discussion of who is the best all-around back in PSU history.

 

[83wuzme]

I still think Saquon is the best ever by a significant margin. Anybody who doubts this should watch his freshman performance at tOSU playing behind a subpar OL.
That said, I do think Warner is next best.
The list after this pretty complicated : KiJana, LJ, Enis, Thomas, Mitchell, Cappy, Royster, etc

 

[Still in State College]

I wouldn't have an argument against Warner. He was as good as it gets. Great vision and sneaky fast but still could get hard yards.

 

[mn78psu83]

I still think Saquon is the best ever by a significant margin. Anybody who doubts this should watch his freshman performance at tOSU playing behind a subpar OL.
That said, I do think Warner is next best.
The list after this pretty complicated : KiJana, LJ, Enis, Thomas, Mitchell, Cappy, Royster, etc

Hard to argue against that. Warner ran behind some of the greatest OL in PSU history. Just saying that he's worthy of discussion.

 

[91Joe95]

 

[Locolion]

I wouldn't have an argument against Warner. He was as good as it gets. Great vision and sneaky fast but still could get hard yards.

Warner was so damn shifty. Fast, with power, and a herkey jerky style that made him just unwieldy to tackle.

 

[wilbury]

I know, everyone's first though for PSU's GOAT RB is that Saquon is without a doubt the best, and I wouldn't argue with you; but.....watch these film highlights. He was great on every aspect of the game and made Todd Blackledge look better than he actually was. I for one would be in favor of our QB taking snaps on the line of scrimmage as it gives the RB more time and space to see a hole or blocker to follow. BTW, Warner had his best games against the biggest opponents such as Nebraska (ran for over 200 yards in both Lincoln and State College), USC (had more yards and TDs than Marcus Allen who won the Heisman that year), and of course Georgia for the national championship in 1992 (again outplayed that years Heiman winner - Hershel Walker). Unlike Saquon who lost lots of yards running in the backfield looking for the home-run play, Curt just went and got what he could and made his own extra yards on shear determination! Enjoy these highlights.

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19 fewer rushing TD's on only 22 fewer career carries in an era dominated by the rushing game when we had a better OL. I'll stick with Barkley.

 

[Jerademan]

19 fewer rushing TD's on only 22 fewer career carries in an era dominated by the rushing game when we had a better OL. I'll stick with Barkley.

Warner got a lot of his TDs in the passing game through screen passes mainly. BTW, we were not a predominantly running team with Blackledge at QB. I can't argue though that Warner had a better OL to block for him and we did use a FB back then. It's very difficult to choose the best at anything since the teams varied so much in each era. Saquon was truly a "generational RB", but Curt Warner was too.

 

[JoeLion]

Nittany Lion Mt. Rush-more: Warner, Kijana, Saquon ....in no particular order. Who is the 4th?

 

[Still in State College]

Nittany Lion Mt. Rush-more: Warner, Kijana, Saquon ....in no particular order. Who is the 4th?

Tough call but you almost have to go with Cappy. He did win the Heisman Trophy and all. You do have the LJ 2002 season. Lydell Mitchell's 1971 season could put him in there as well. Tough on the older guys because they didn't play as FR pre-72 so their career numbers don't look as good.

I don't think anyone would go Royster even though he has the most yards.

In the end I think for me it comes down to Lydell Mitchell or Blair Thomas with the edge to Mitchell.

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

IMO, the discussion of who is the GOAT as PSU running back starts and stops with Saquon Barkley.

The rest are second because none of them had to deal with teams/OLs as bad as Barkley.

 

[Still in State College]

IMO, the discussion of who is the GOAT as PSU running back starts and stops with Saquon Barkley.

The rest are second because none of them had to deal with teams/OLs as bad as Barkley.

How much of it was bad line play versus bad scheme to run effectively?

 

[mn78psu83]

IMO, the discussion of who is the GOAT as PSU running back starts and stops with Saquon Barkley.

The rest are second because none of them had to deal with teams/OLs as bad as Barkley.

There is no argument against the claim that he ran behind an inferior OL.

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

How much of it was bad line play versus bad scheme to run effectively?

In 2015, the OL was putrid, the QB was mindf*cked, and Barkley still dropped nearly 200 on a defense loaded with NFL players. He was the best player on the field every week.

The OL he ran behind was never serviceable, though scheme in 16/17 was worlds better.

 

[LionJim]

Nittany Lion Mt. Rush-more: Warner, Kijana, Saquon ....in no particular order. Who is the 4th?

Has to be Larry Johnson.

 

[wex18]

Nittany Lion Mt. Rush-more: Warner, Kijana, Saquon ....in no particular order. Who is the 4th?

Lenny Moore

 

[delcojim]

Cappy

 

[sluggo72]

Lenny Moore

now we have a winner

 

[Lion78]

Leaving Lenny Moore off this list is either ignorance due to age or just ignorance. Best football payer Joe ever coached according to him.

 

[Shadow99]

"This is Warner"

...which as a child I translated from the radio as "Mrs. Warner"

 

[Ranger Dan]

The thing that sets Saquon above the others is the Swiss cheese o-lines that we had blocking for him and the 30 second mesh points on the RPO handoffs. He was special despite poor O line play. The others in the conversation (Warner, Carter, LJ) were special with good or great o line play.

 

[Mufasa94]

Hard to argue against that. Warner ran behind some of the greatest OL in PSU history. Just saying that he's worthy of discussion.

Warner ran against tougher competition than any of the other greats while helping the team have more significant success.

Single season I’ll go with Carter in ‘94. But career, give me Warner and the Lions from ‘80-‘82.

 

[Jerademan]

Tough call but you almost have to go with Cappy. He did win the Heisman Trophy and all. You do have the LJ 2002 season. Lydell Mitchell's 1971 season could put him in there as well. Tough on the older guys because they didn't play as FR pre-72 so their career numbers don't look as good.

I don't think anyone would go Royster even though he has the most yards.

In the end I think for me it comes down to Lydell Mitchell or Blair Thomas with the edge to Mitchell.

Good choices. If Blair Thomas didn't tear his knee apart while at Penn State his Junior year, he would have been the best ever. He always had a smile on his face too as he absolutely loved playing football for Penn State. That 1 game against ND I believe in his senior year was phenomenal towards the end where he was given the ball every down and gained 8 to 10 yards on every play when the ND defense knew he was getting the ball!

 

[Jerademan]

Leaving Lenny Moore off this list is either ignorance due to age or just ignorance. Best football payer Joe ever coached according to him.

Yes, but Joe never coached Saquon. He probably would have changed his thoughts to Barkley had he coached him!

 

[Lion78]

Yes, but Joe never coached Saquon. He probably would have changed his thoughts to Barkley had he coached him!

Maybe. There are two in the NFL HOF and the other one was a fullback playing along side Lydell

 

[lurkerlion]

I have always wondered how Saquon would have done as an I back insteadof RPO. The OSU game his freshman year was a scary performance especially when you could arguably add a 50 yard TD which was called back for a holding call which had no bearing on the play. The. RPO was probably better for the team but maybe not for Saquon.

I think people forget the excitement Warner brought to PSU. He and Saquon are the only backs that you never wanted to miss a play for, even if you had dvr. LJ, Blair and Carter were close for pure excitement but not quite.

 

[GregPSU]

I know, everyone's first though for PSU's GOAT RB is that Saquon is without a doubt the best, and I wouldn't argue with you; but.....watch these film highlights. Curt Warner was great on every aspect of the game and made Todd Blackledge look better than he actually was. I for one would be in favor of our QB taking snaps on the line of scrimmage as it gives the RB more time and space to see a hole or blocker to follow.

Warner had his best games against the biggest opponents such as Nebraska (ran for over 200 yards in both Lincoln and State College), USC (had more yards and TDs than Marcus Allen who won the Heisman that year), and of course Georgia for the national championship in 1982 (again outplayed that years Heiman winner - Hershel Walker). Unlike Saquon who lost lots of yards running in the backfield looking for the home-run play, Curt just went and got what he could and made his own extra yards on shear determination! Enjoy these highlights.

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I've been a fan since 1963 and I always considered Warner the best back PSU ever had, although DJ Dozier provided some of the most electric runs I've seen. Then along comes Saquon. WOW, Just wow!!!

 

[Jerademan]

Good choices. If Blair Thomas didn't tear his knee apart while at Penn State his Junior year, he would have been the best ever. He always had a smile on his face too as he absolutely loved playing football for Penn State. That 1 game against ND I believe in his senior year was phenomenal towards the end where he was given the ball every down and gained 8 to 10 yards on every play when the ND defense knew he was getting the ball!

Here is Blair Thomas's highlights. He was as good as any RB at Penn State and had he stayed healthy, he'd of been right up there with Barkley and Warner! Watch what I was talking about how Lou Holtz's ND team (who was highly ranked) couldn't stop him even though they knew he was getting the ball on almost every down!

 

[lurkerlion]

Here is Blair Thomas's highlights. He was as good as any RB at Penn State and had he stayed healthy, he'd of been right up there with Barkley and Warner! Watch what I was talking about how Lou Holtz's ND team (who was highly ranked) couldn't stop him even though they knew he was getting the ball on almost every down!

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I believe he did the same against Alabama. He just carried the ball and the team the length of the field. However, a game winning field goal was blocked.

 

[Rip_E_2_Joe_PA]

Skeeter Nichols

 

[mj1962]

I know, everyone's first though for PSU's GOAT RB is that Saquon is without a doubt the best, and I wouldn't argue with you; but.....watch these film highlights. Curt Warner was great on every aspect of the game and made Todd Blackledge look better than he actually was. I for one would be in favor of our QB taking snaps on the line of scrimmage as it gives the RB more time and space to see a hole or blocker to follow.

Warner had his best games against the biggest opponents such as Nebraska (ran for over 200 yards in both Lincoln and State College), USC (had more yards and TDs than Marcus Allen who won the Heisman that year), and of course Georgia for the national championship in 1982 (again outplayed that years Heiman winner - Hershel Walker). Unlike Saquon who lost lots of yards running in the backfield looking for the home-run play, Curt just went and got what he could and made his own extra yards on shear determination! Enjoy these highlights.

View embedded media

After his opening season performance I asked my dad what is the story when he got back from the game H e said we got somebody and we did

 

[Connorpozlee]

Nittany Lion Mt. Rush-more: Warner, Kijana, Saquon ....in no particular order. Who is the 4th?

A strong case could me made for many guys. I often feel like Blair Thomas gets overlooked in these discussions. He was phenomenal.

 

[BOSCO2]

Nittany Lion Mt. Rush-more: Warner, Kijana, Saquon ....in no particular order. Who is the 4th?

Lydell Mitchell

 

[EPC FAN]

I know, everyone's first though for PSU's GOAT RB is that Saquon is without a doubt the best, and I wouldn't argue with you; but.....watch these film highlights. Curt Warner was great on every aspect of the game and made Todd Blackledge look better than he actually was. I for one would be in favor of our QB taking snaps on the line of scrimmage as it gives the RB more time and space to see a hole or blocker to follow.

Warner had his best games against the biggest opponents such as Nebraska (ran for over 200 yards in both Lincoln and State College), USC (had more yards and TDs than Marcus Allen who won the Heisman that year), and of course Georgia for the national championship in 1982 (again outplayed that years Heiman winner - Hershel Walker). Unlike Saquon who lost lots of yards running in the backfield looking for the home-run play, Curt just went and got what he could and made his own extra yards on shear determination! Enjoy these highlights.

View embedded media

I would have loved to see Saquon behind the ‘82 or ‘94 offensive lines. He never had a great line at Whitehall OR Penn State.
One other thing. Saquon would have been a sure fire All American at Safety. He was always the best defensive player at Whitehall.

 

[NittanyBuff24]

I know, everyone's first though for PSU's GOAT RB is that Saquon is without a doubt the best, and I wouldn't argue with you; but.....watch these film highlights. Curt Warner was great on every aspect of the game and made Todd Blackledge look better than he actually was. I for one would be in favor of our QB taking snaps on the line of scrimmage as it gives the RB more time and space to see a hole or blocker to follow.

Warner had his best games against the biggest opponents such as Nebraska (ran for over 200 yards in both Lincoln and State College), USC (had more yards and TDs than Marcus Allen who won the Heisman that year), and of course Georgia for the national championship in 1982 (again outplayed that years Heiman winner - Hershel Walker). Unlike Saquon who lost lots of yards running in the backfield looking for the home-run play, Curt just went and got what he could and made his own extra yards on shear determination! Enjoy these highlights.

View embedded media

Warner is right there in the discussion, could do it all, run, catch, block return man..

 

[GulfCoastLion]

Nittany Lion Mt. Rush-more: Warner, Kijana, Saquon ....in no particular order. Who is the 4th?

I’ve seen Moore, Cappy, Johnson, Mitchell, Thomas listed and all worthy of the 4th member of PSU’s Mt Rushmore at RB. However I have to add another who I can’t believe hasn’t been mentioned yet (unless I missed it).
👉And that would be CURTIS ENIS.

 

[wilbury]

Warner got a lot of his TDs in the passing game through screen passes mainly. BTW, we were not a predominantly running team with Blackledge at QB. I can't argue though that Warner had a better OL to block for him and we did use a FB back then. It's very difficult to choose the best at anything since the teams varied so much in each era. Saquon was truly a "generational RB", but Curt Warner was too.

Barkley had 8 receiving TD's, Warner only had 6. And Warner's numbers are over 4 years

Warner - 5'11", 205 lbs, Barkley 6'0", 230

Passing offense - Blackledge 4812 total passing yards, McSorely had almost 9,900 along with a 59% completion percentage. Blackledge was less than 52%.

The best thing about Warner is that he never seemed to lose yards. He was always driving, spinning and falling forward. Sometimes Barkley tried to do too much.

 

[PSUTENN1]

Penn State had lots of great running backs way back in the day, and they all ran behind NFL caliber offensive lines. That’s was the key.

 

[PSUTENN1]

I’ve seen Moore, Cappy, Johnson, Mitchell, Thomas listed and all worthy of the 4th member of PSU’s Mt Rushmore at RB. However I have to add another who I can’t believe hasn’t been mentioned yet (unless I missed it).
👉And that would be CURTIS ENIS.

DJ Dozier and Blair Thomas ???