The Chinese calendar says 2024 was the year of the dragon. Over in America, it was the year of the running back. Across the top 2 rungs of the footballing ladder, the dying position has been resuscitated back into vogue. The evolution of the game towards a more passing style was rendering even the RBs unable to express their talent. Derrick Henry in the pros and CFB’s consensus best RB Ashton Jeanty are massive flag-bearers for this return to form. However, one guy has been at the epitome of this upturn- Saquon Barkley.

Saquon has been box-office from the onset of his NFL career. His rookie-year escapades still rank in the upper echelons of the great running back seasons. An injury-ridden time followed, though, and the Giants opted to let him walk in free agency. Wonder what they rue more in hindsight, this or giving Daniel Jones that contract. Regardless, Saquon Barkley signed with in-conference rivals Philly. What has transpired since has been historic, and Saquon is verging on the best statistical season for any running back ever as the Eagles prepare for their tryst with fate in the SuperBowl rematch from 2 iterations ago. They’ll lean on Saquon Barkley to take them over the hump as they have all year. This excellent year 1 in Philly allows us to zoom out and put his journey up to this point in perspective.

Before Saquon Barkley was piercing through NFL defensive front 7s, he was doing so in the college game with equal zest. Penn State has a historic lineage of tailbacks gracing their backfield, with Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton the latest two. Saquon is another key member of said lineage. In just his 2nd ever game for the Nittany Lions, Saquon Barkley rushed for 115 yards and a TD. As a true freshman, mind you. Next outing? 195 on the ground, with two house calls to go with it. Perhaps his “I’ve arrived” moment was his sophomore year, where he won B1G offensive POTY and was a consensus All-American. Saquon is not new to this. He’s true to this. 

In the wake of his sensationally routine game-breaking performance in the NFC Championship game this weekend, a throwback video of Saquon Barkley’s time in College Station surfaced and subsequently went viral. As aforementioned, he was that guy from the jump. In the video, he can be seen in the gym along with a multitude of teammates circling him. Saquon is about to lift a 390-lb barbell. Sounds unfathomable for an 18-year-old. No prizes for guessing, but he does! His teammates and him erupt in elation over this gargantuan feat.

As this video traversed the internet, fans of all persuasions weighed on with their thoughts (No pun intended). Some startled, some now used to Saquon pulling the proverbial rug from under their feet. Since so many Penn State fans also support their in-state Philadelphia Eagles, Saquon’s reverence amongst the Happy Valley faithful knows no end at this moment in time. Here are the best comments from scraped off the IG post of Saquon channeling his inner Mr. Olympia.

Social media sphere reacts to Saquon Barkley’s unprecedented athleticism

One person chose to verbalize in a few words what everyone was thinking.“That boy strong af,” they said.  This was also echoed by another, saying, “He’s a unit”. The most insane part of this entire video is the ease with which he makes it happen. No surprise people thought he let up. Even at 390 pounds! 

“That was too easy, he could’ve done more too,” wrote one fan who’s clearly not averse to Saquon Barkley being superhuman. Another fan wrote a more detailed, technical breakdown of Saquon leaving meat on the bone. “That was closer to a power clean than a squat clean. He could have moved a lot more weight with a full squat [clean].” they said. 

“I would go watch him play at PSU, even then you could see he had a special talent,” said another person. Touche. Running backs are often seen as a position that sees athletes peak for a short amount of time and then regress earlier relative to other positions. Saquon Barkley is thwarting that conventional wisdom so far in his career. One fan who’s supported him through his entire journey from a Nittany Lion to an Eagle wrote, “We Are! Go Birds!” This meshing of the two teams’ war cries is a perfect microcosm of Saquon Barkley. He’ll hope to bring hardware for the state of Pennsylvania by winning the Super Bowl. That may well be enough to get him into Canton and get himself a gold jacket.