How Saquon Barkley and Miles Sanders Helped Penn State Build the 'LawnBoyz'
As Saquon Barkley begins his third season with the New York Giants, it's instructive to remember how much recruiting impact he had at Penn State after leaving in 2017.
When he signed with Penn State in 2018, running back Noah Cain said the Lions were "building something up there, and I plan on winning a national championship with those boys." But what if he hadn't watched Barkley and Miles Sanders deliver big seasons before him? Things might have been different.
"Honestly, if [Barkley] and Miles wasn't here, I would have been kind of skeptical about coming," Cain said. "[Penn State] hadn't had a big back come out in a minute before those two."
Penn State coach James Franklin has noted the "Saquon Barkley effect" on recruiting his 2019 class, which included Cain and Devyn Ford, two of the nation's highest-profile backs, committed to the same class. Both contributed as freshmen, with Cain finishing as the team's second-leading rusher behind Journey Brown despite missing three games with an injury.
Now Penn State has one of the nation's top position groups at running back, which includes four backs (with freshman Caziah Holmes) capable of being the starter. The 'LawnBoyz' began with Barkley and Sanders.
"When we played in the Rose Bowl, and [Barkley's] got that run where he made 17 people miss, and it’s a signature run, I do think that has an impact,” Franklin said on Signing Day in 2018. "Players try to envision themselves doing something similar. Whenever you have exciting players like that, it can make a huge impact."
Cain didn't grow up on a steady diet of Penn State backs, or Penn State football for that matter. He lived in Baton Rouge, La., and played high school football near Dallas before transferring to IMG Academy in Florida.
A relationship with Ja'Juan Seider, who became Penn State's running backs coach in 2018, prompted him to consider the Lions. Seider then began illustrating Penn State's legacy of running backs, from John Cappelletti to Franco Harris to Lydell Mitchell to Curt Warner to Ki-Jana Carter to Larry Johnson Jr.
"I was honestly surprised by the long list of running backs who have been in this program," Cain said. "It was shocking to me. But that's just a testament to the tradition here and the offense they ran."
Still, while growing up, Cain really didn't have a marquee Penn State back to watch. From 2007-2018, Penn State had two backs selected in the NFL draft: Tony Hunt (third round) in 2007 and Evan Royster (fourth round) in 2011.
Barkley and Sanders (who is injured to begin his second season with the Philadelphia Eagles) changed the perception, to the point that Franklin said in 2018 that people ask whether he's recruiting future running backs with them in mind.
"One of the questions I get is, ‘Are you out there looking for the next Saquon Barkley?’ No,” Franklin said then. “I think that's a huge mistake people make. No different in hiring: You lose a coach, you go try and hire somebody just like the other guy? No, you don't do that. That's not how it works.”
Still, Barkley and Sanders altered the course of Penn State's recruiting at the position. The current position room is proof of that.
"Definitely, Miles and Saquon had a big impact on me coming here," Cain said. "Seeing what they did and seeing the opportunity I could have to do the same thing."
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