ROSEMONT, Ill. – Penn State sophomore running back Saquon Barkley is one of 10 members of the sixth annual Big Ten Conference football preseason honors list, which was announced Monday in conjunction with the start of Big Ten Media Days in Chicago.
(Photo of Saquon Barkley. Photo by Paul Burdick. See more of Burdick’s work here)
The list was chosen by a select media panel with five representatives each from the East and West Divisions of the Big Ten.
Barkley is coming off perhaps the finest freshman season ever by a Penn State running back.
He broke the Penn State freshman (true or redshirt) record with 1,076 yards, surpassing the mark set by D.J. Dozier (1,002) in 1983. Barkley’s 1,076 yards place him 16th on Penn State’s season rushing chart and 40th in program history in career rushing yards. Barkley scored seven rushing touchdowns (eight overall) to tie Dozier’s record for rushing scores by a freshman and had five 100-yard rushing games to equal Dozier’s rookie mark.
For his efforts, Barkley was named All-Big Ten second team, Freshman All-America by Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Sporting News and USA Today, ECAC Rookie of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of the Year by the Big Ten Network. He finished 34th in FBS and third in the Big Ten with 97.8 rushing yards per game, which was skewed by having just one career in the season opener versus Temple and missing nearly three quarters in the San Diego State game. Barkley also ranked 34th in FBS and fourth in the Big Ten in yards per carry (5.9) and was second among true freshmen running backs.
Joining Barkley on the honors list are Ohio State junior quarterback J.T. Barrett and junior linebacker Raekwon McMillian, Michigan State junior defensive lineman Malik McDowell, Michigan junior linebacker/defensive back Jabrill Peppers, Iowa senior quarterback C.J. Beathard, Iowa senior defensive back Desmond King, Northwestern junior running back Justin Jackson, Northwestern junior linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. and Wisconsin senior running back Corey Clement.
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