Penn State's Barkley focuses on fumble after 5-TD game

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - For all the praise of Saquon Barkley, Penn State's sophomore running back isn't satisfied.

After Saturday's 42-39 loss to Pitt, Barkley fixated not on his five touchdowns but on his third-quarter fumble.

"I am tough on myself. That is just how I am," Barkley said Wednesday. "That fumble, I watched it about . . . a lot of times."

As he watched and rewatched, Barkley noticed his elbow turn as the ball started slipping out of his hands.

Why torture himself, considering his 1,076-yard freshman season?

"I don't want to say it is torturing yourself," Barkley said. "It just shows you that you're not perfect. It reminds you of the little things you've got to work on."

On the practice field, Barkley's 5-foot-11, 223-pound figure is imposing. He added muscle during winter workouts, power-cleaning 390 pounds and squatting 495.

When asked about "measurables" that stick out when it comes to Barkley, coach James Franklin rattled off a list: his weight, his 40-yard dash time (4.38 seconds), his pro-agility shuttle time (4.00).

"That is probably the thing with Saquon: It is not one thing. It is that he has almost all of those things," Franklin said. "He has got the body type you're looking for. He has got the mentality. He has got the intelligence."

In the first two games this season, a 33-13 win over Kent State and the Pitt loss, defenses have loaded the box to stop Barkley's explosive runs.

But the Coplay, Pa., native was still able to log what Franklin called a "sneaky 100 yards" against Kent State. At Pitt, Barkley rushed for 85 yards on 20 carries. His touchdowns, however, didn't come on big-yardage plays.

"I know I haven't been putting up crazy stat numbers," Barkley said. "I really don't care, because we're still putting up 30-some points a game."

Barkley said he has put Pitt in the rearview mirror now and is focused on Temple. Saturday's game will bring back memories of the Owls' 27-10 win over the Nittany Lions last season. For Barkley, that game was more than just a heartbreaking loss.

"I was nervous as heck," he said. 'I was like, 'It's here. I'm actually playing college football.'"

Barkley recorded 1 carry for 1 yard in his first college game.

"I remember being on the sideline feeling like there wasn't really much I could do," he said.

That day at Lincoln Financial Field, Barkley had yet to explode onto the college football scene. Much has changed in the year since. But when Barkley is on the sideline, he is still wanting to do more, still wanting to be better, still never satisfied.

@ErinMcPSU