EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It began on Oct. 17, 2015. That was the day when Penn State freshman running back Saquon Barkley introduced himself to the football world with a 194-yard rushing effort against No. 1 Ohio State at the famed Horseshoe. It was also the beginning of an unexpected friendship.
Barkley was approached after that game near midfield by Ezekiel Elliott, then Ohio State’s star junior running back, who remembers leaping over a defender on one drive and watching Barkley do the same thing on the very next drive.