CHAMPAIGN, Ill.
Miles Sanders hugged his mother, Marlene, tight. For 30 seconds, they rocked back and forth together, Sanders still in his all-white uniform standing on the turf sideline, his biggest fan in the first row.
In that moment, Marlene reminded Miles why he came to Penn State. Why he sat behind Saquon Barkley. Why he persevered and remained patient. It was all for a night like Friday.
“She knows what I’ve been going through,” Sanders said. “I’ve been waiting for this for two years.”
Sanders — grinning as he finally left the field with eye-black crosses smudged on his cheeks — was Penn State’s savior in Champaign.