Saquon Barkley has caught people’s attention since his freshman season at Penn State.

According to ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, Barkley – now entering his junior year – will be the country’s top running back in 2017.

There’s not much denying that Barkley was one of the best backs this past season. All he did as a sophomore was run for nearly 1,500 yards (1,496) and score 22 touchdowns (18 rushing, four receiving).

So, what did he do in the Rose Bowl to deserve a tweet from Herbstreit? Barkley ran for 194 yards while scoring twice on the ground and adding 55 yards receiving with a score as a pass-catcher against USC in a game to be remembered, ending in a 52-49 defeat.

Barkley averaged 5.9 yards per carry as a freshman and then this past season attempted 90 more carries but still recorded a 5.5 average. Out of the backfield, the true sophomore totaled 402 yards and upped his freshman yards per catch average of 8.1 to 14.4.

It’s impossible to tell whether or not at this time next season Barkley will be talking with an agent for the NFL Draft or if he’ll stay in school for a senior season. Based on the numbers he’s posted in his first two seasons with the Nittany Lions, though, it wouldn’t be preposterous to think he may follow the likes of LSU’s Leonard Fournette, Florida State’s Dalvin Cook and Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey – all juniors opting for the NFL.