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Pat Fitzgerald on Saquon Barkley: He’s just absolutely spectacular
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Pat Fitzgerald knows just how difficult this upcoming week will be with Saquon Barkley coming to town.
During his press conference on Monday, the Northwestern head coach was asked about Barkley and Penn State’s offense, which is one of the most explosive in the country. Fitzgerald has seen a lot of football, but he says, he’s never seen someone quite as talented as Barkley.
“Barkley is maybe the best player that I’ve ever seen on tape,” he said. “I’ve played against some pretty good backs, I’ve coached against some pretty good backs, but he’s just absolutely spectacular.
“He’s great in the run game, he’s great in protection, catching ball out of the backfield, he’s a great return man, he does it all and he’s an outstanding football player.”
Barkley leads the nation in all-purpose yards with 1,218 and has accounted for seven touchdowns this season. He’s racked up 574 rushing yards and added 386 yards as a receiver. He’s scored a touchdown in all three phases of the game.
Fitzgerald admits that, when he’s not coaching his team on Saturdays, he’s watching Penn State and can’t help but be impressed by the running back.
“I had a chance to watch the Iowa game, and the toughness that he showed, as a fan, we had the bye week and I’m sitting there cheering for him like ‘wow.'” Fitzgerald said. “If I were a Penn State fan I’d be pretty stoked up. He’s good.”
Penn State travels to Ryan Field on Saturday and the two teams meet for the first time since 2015. Northwestern won that meeting 23-21.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB