Penn State running back Saquon Barkley has already offered a glimpse of some greatness on the football field last season, but he also a monster in the weight room. Yesterday, Barkley tied the Penn State program power clean record previously set by Anthony Zettel. For those unfamiliar with the term, power clean is simply picking up a weight from the ground and lifting up to your shoulders in two moves.
Barkley power cleaned 390 pounds during a weightlifting routine with his teammates gathered around. Wide receivers coach Josh Gattis captured the record lift for Twitter.
https://twitter.com/Coach_Gattis/status/704777245437661184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
While the lift tied the record set previously by Zettel, it should be noted Barkley is about 60 pounds lighter than the All-American defensive end was at the end of the 2015 season. That makes Barkley the new leading Iron Lion in the weight room.
While @Zettel98 is @NFLCombine, his team record 390 Clean was just matched by @saquonb21! Making him the new leader because of bodyweight!
— Iron Lions (@IronLions1) March 1, 2016
Still not impressed? Keep in mind Penn State also announced Barkley had the fastest 40-yard dash time in program history as well.
.@saquonb21's Max Out Testing Update: fastest 40 time & new holder of power clean program record https://t.co/G7S58oo9vF
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) March 1, 2016
Get excited about Barkley,because he is clearly putting in work this offseason to improve his game. It will be fun seeing how new offensive coordinator Joe Moorehead builds his offense and uses Barkley, and perhaps incoming freshman Miles Sanders. The Penn State running duo of Barkley and Sanders could be a lot of fun to watch, especially if the offensive line starts to improve even just marginally in the fall. even if the offensive line struggles do continue, expect Moorehead will find a way to work around his problems to reduce the negative impact it has on the offense.
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