Eagles RB Saquon Barkley rooting for Penn State duo to break all-time records

PHILADELPHIA — Saquon Barkley knows a thing or two about breaking records.

The Eagles running back and former Penn State star had a historic 2024. Barkley set franchise records. He became the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season, coming 96 yards short of passing Eric Dickerson’s record. And he had the most scrimmage yards in a campaign, playoffs included, en route to a Super Bowl title.

Now, Barkley is rooting for his records to be broken — his Penn State records, that is.

Barkley, speaking with PennLive, said he would “love” to see Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen make history of their own and pass him on Penn State’s all-time rushing charts.

“I would love for it to happen,” Barkley said at his NovaCare Complex locker. “They work really hard. They’re super talented. And to be honest, if one of them was somewhere else, the other probably would have done it already.”

Barkley, who starred for the Nittany Lions from 2015-17, left an indelible mark in Happy Valley — and left early for the NFL with his name all over the history books.

Barkley ranks first in program history with 43 rushing touchdowns and 53 total touchdowns, passing Lydell Mitchell for both. He racked up a program-best 5,538 all-purpose yards, passing Larry Johnson. And he sits second on the all-time rushing yards list with 3,843, behind Evan Royster’s 3,932 — a record Barkley likely would own if he played a fourth season with the Nittany Lions.

But Allen and Singleton, through three games of their final seasons at Penn State, are creeping up on Barkley.

After Penn State’s win over Villanova, Allen is eighth on the all-time rushing yards list with 3,150, while Singleton is ninth with 3,091. Allen and Singleton are 783 and 842 yards away, respectively, from passing Royster — and even closer to passing Barkley.

Singleton also has a good chance of leaving as the program’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns and all-purpose yards. He’s third on the touchdowns list with 37, seven shy of passing Barkley. Singleton will need 643 all-purpose yards to take the top spot away from No. 26.

“It’s cool that I’m someone that guys are chasing,” Barkley said, “just how I was chasing Larry Johnson, John Cappelletti and all those guys at Penn State.”

Barkley joked he’s “an old head now” at 28 years old. But while he appreciates what he accomplished at Penn State, he doesn’t approach his records in a territorial way.

Maybe that’s how Barkley’s wired. Maybe that’s from experiencing the other side of things last year.

Dickerson, the Rams legend who rushed for 2,105 yards in 1984, publicly said he “absolutely” did not want Barkley breaking his single-season NFL rushing record.

Barkley, needing 96 yards to pass Dickerson, sat out a meaningless Week 18 game against the Giants — his former team who he rushed for 176 yards against earlier in the season.

“I’m not one of those guys that are like, ‘Oh, I don’t want you to pass me.’ You want that,” Barkley said. “That’s what (records are) for.”

Barkley also appreciates Allen and Singleton are chasing his records in tandem.

Singleton and Allen have formed a dynamic duo since they arrived as freshmen in 2022. They’ve split carries pretty evenly over three-plus seasons; Allen leads Singleton, 593 to 540, in attempts, partially because Singleton missed time last year with an injury.

Singleton and Allen had opportunities to leave Penn State via the transfer portal to become a bell-cow back elsewhere. Both had the opportunity to leave for the NFL after last season. And as Barkley mentioned, if one of them left, the other might already sit atop the rushing charts.

“But I love that they stuck together,” Barkley said. “And now they’re back for their last year to try to ultimately win a national championship.”

If Penn State does win the national title, it would mean Singleton and Allen would be running through a long season. The No. 2-ranked Lions kick off their nine-game Big Ten slate next Saturday against No. 6 Oregon. They could play in the Big Ten championship. And they could play as many as four CFP games en route to being the last team standing.

All in all, Allen and Singleton could be playing a 17-game season. If they are, that means Royster and Barkley’s program records could reasonably be overtaken.

And that would be quite all right with No. 26.