Giants rookie running back Saquon Barkley has already taken the NFL by storm, with 236 all-purpose yards in his first two games. Not only that, he’s done so running behind a subpar offensive line, which has really struggled to open up holes for him.
And while drafting a running back with a top-five pick is a move that is often criticized, Barkley is proving his doubters wrong. The Giants passed on quarterback Sam Darnold, and instead selected Barkley with the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft. He’s shown that he’s shifty, but also utilizes a powerful running style, which has proven to be effective thus far.
As for the secret to his success as a running back, Barkley attributes some of it to boxing growing up. He recently opened up about it, in an interview with CampusLore.
“I did box a little bit growing up,” he said. “My dad actually just used to take me to the street and put gloves on, and make me fight random kids. For whatever reason…I don’t know.”
Barkley continued on by discussing how boxing has had an impact on his football career:
“You know, obviously, boxing…boxing does play a big part of how I am as an athlete, and my passion and my drive,” he said. “If football didn’t work out for me, it probably would have done boxing. I don’t like getting hit, though. So I don’t think our careers right there would have worked.
“That’s why I play running back. The whole objective of being a running back is to score touchdowns and get away, and get away from defenders; whether it’s [being] agile, running through them, jump over them, so it’s kind of like a game of tag.”
That certainly explains why Barkley is so quick, and his cuts are so smooth. And as it relates to his career choice, it does appear that the stud running back made the right call, picking football over boxing.
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