Saquon Barkley shines as Penn State football undergoes ‘Max-Out’ Week

The steel bar bent and shook, digging into the shoulders of Penn State freshman running back Saquon Barkley as he dipped low in a squat and, grunting, stood back up.

After all, just about anything would bend under a 495-pound load.

Barkley squatted his maximum output, 495 pounds, seven times on Wednesday afternoon during Penn State football’s final day of “Max-Out” week. The 19-year-old, who has only been working out in the program for about nine months, also ran a team-best 4.38-second 40-yard dash and power-cleaned 390 pounds to set a program record (edging out former defensive lineman Anthony Zettel by bodyweight-to-pound ratio).

The numbers, good for top-10 rankings at this year’s NFL Combine, bend the mind just as much as that squat bar.

They’re good enough to bring Barkley within close reach of strength coach Dwight Galt’s “Tier 3” weight ranking. Only nine players grace the list teamwide, per Galt: linebacker Jason Cabinda, lineman Derek Dowrey, safety Nick Scott, receivers Saeed Blacknall, DaeSean Hamilton and Chris Godwin, offensive lineman Brian Gaia, linebacker Von Walker and (surprisingly enough) long snapper Tyler Yazujian, who Penn State recently put on scholarship and apparently benches 400 pounds and runs a 4.7-second 40-yard dash.

“Huge day,” said Galt of Barkley’s performance. “He tied Zettel for the greatest in the history of our program ...This kid is for real. He’s a tremendous athlete.”

As Barkley squatted, teammates crowded around his weight set and barked out reps and encouragement amid blasting music. According to Galt, the freshman’s work ethic has earned him a high standing among those teammates outside of the weight room.

“He’s a great leader, a great worker,” said Galt. “He epitomizes what we’re all about.

“Saquon is a once-every-10-years guy. People have asked me what it was like to train (NFL tight end) Vernon Davis. There you go. He’s special in a lot of different areas. You don’t get kids like that very often. The nice thing about him, just like Vernon, what makes Saquon special is not his physical gifts but his work ethic. And there’s a lot of guys who have come around (around the country) who have great physical attributes ... But when you work like that, then you really got something special.

“Saquon means a lot to this program, and a lot more than just Saturdays on the field. Special guy.”

Notable performances

Penn State’s Max-Out week is the culmination of the team’s winter workouts. Galt said that since Monday, the team has tested in the 40-yard dash (which Penn State does just once per year), the broad and triple-broad jump, the bench press, vertical jump, power clean (an important measurement of a player’s explosiveness) and the pro-style shuttle run and squat max on Wednesday.

Galt said that other athletes who have performed admirably include linemen Paris Palmer and Sterling Jenkins, who benched 400 pounds at 6-foot-3 and 300 pounds.

Palmer, who is lanky for a left tackle and still weighed in at 303.7 pounds on Wednesday (per DK Pittsburgh Sports’ Audrey Snyder), noticeably struggled at his position all throughout last season due to issues with strength and technique.

Galt said Palmer has improved since his arrival from a 185-pound bench press to a 385-pound max. He also squatted 455 pounds for seven reps and ran a 5.2-second 40-yard dash.

“You guys all know we got Paris last January, and he’s been here for 14 months,” he said. “I can’t even tell you the difference in physical change that (he) has gone through. Just tremendous change.”

Blacknall, a Tier 3-ranked player, ran the second-fastest 40-yard dash on the team at 4.39 seconds. Quarterback Trace McSorley ran the fastest of the position at 4.58 seconds, while the fastest defensive player was Troy Apke, who posted a 4.41-second time. Defensive end Evan Schwan ran the best time of a “trenches player,” with a 4.67-second 40-time at 245 pounds (and climbing).

“Other guys on the defensive side of the ball, I think (safety) Marcus Allen is really doing a great job,” said Galt. “He cleaned 315 pounds yesterday and he ran well on Monday (Allen ran a 4.79-second 40), he’s done a really, really nice job of working hard, having a really infectious, positive, aggressive attitude and giving good leadership to the younger players and backing it up with his own hard work.”

Early enrollees coming along

Five players joined Penn State’s ranks in January as midyear enrolles: Tight end Danny Dalton, offensive linemen Alex Gellerstedt and Connor McGovern, quarterback Jake Zembiec and junior college transfer linebacker Jason Vranic.

“Obviously we’re talking about a big adjustment. They should be in high school right now,” said Galt. “The guy that really came in well and did a great job in high school was Connor McGovern. He’s a guy that (weighs) 310 (pounds), and he’s already benching 375 (pounds). He’s a good squatter, a good cleaner, runs really well and moves well. He’s a guy who is going to do a nice job here and possibly early, we’ve gotta see.”

Galt said Gellerstedt, a quiet but well-liked player, has impressed as well and has put on 14 pounds of lean muscle in the past eight weeks. He also said that Dalton has a lot of “foundation work” to do but moves very well, and that Zembiec and the rest of the quarterback corps “just grind” and “work out like linebackers.”

Penn State is hoping that McGovern and Gellerstedt can be effective early, though becoming a rock-solid offensive lineman takes a sometimes-lengthy maturation process to keep up with the physicality of the position.

“It helps Connor and Alex to be midyears,” he said. “If you can get your linemen in at midyear, you’re getting a free seven months of training, growth and maturity. You hate to have them miss out on high school experiences but it really helps them grow quicker.”

Galt said other young offensive linemen, like Steven Gonzalez and Ryan Bates, have “bridged the gap” in terms of their ability to be effective on the line and make imminent contributions.

“Gonzalez has done a great job, Bates has got some really strong, physical attributes right away that help him,” he said. “We’re still trying to help him work on some things with Gonzalez, but he’s done some great things. Benches 425 (pounds), good squatter. Those guys, and Connor McGovern, those three guys, physically you could see us giving them a good look and seeing what we got.”

Penn State will begin spring practices on March 18. Those 15 workouts, in which new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead’s offense will be installed, will culminate in the Blue-White game on April 16.

This story was originally published March 2, 2016 at 7:52 PM with the headline "Saquon Barkley shines as Penn State football undergoes ‘Max-Out’ Week."