Take Two: Will Devyn Ford be the next Saquon Barkley?
Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and a local expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites.
MORE TAKE TWO: Will Ohio State land top in-state star Zach Harrison?
THE STORYLINE
Saquon Barkley was maybe a once-in-a-generation running back, someone so special for Penn State that he will forever be remembered in State College as one of the best players ever for the Nittany Lions.
He won a Big Ten championship, he was twice the conference’s offensive player of the year and last month he was drafted second overall by the New York Giants.
Penn State might never see a running back like Barkley again - unless you believe five-star running back Devyn Ford, who committed to the Nittany Lions over Virginia Tech last week, could be just as special.
Although Barkley weighed a little more in high school, he and Ford were the same height at the same stage. The difference might be a stylistic one in how the two run the football but Ford could definitely develop into an even more special back through his senior season and into his playing career at Penn State.
Is Ford lining up to be the next Barkley in Happy Valley or is it completely unfair - and unreasonable - to compare the two very talented running backs?
FIRST TAKE: ADAM FRIEDMAN, RIVALS.COM RECRUITING ANALYST
“Ford certainly has the potential to be productive like Barkley but there is no way to say how he will develop at Penn State. Barkley improved by leaps and bounds once he arrived on campus and predicting something like that is next to impossible.
“Does Ford have a similar skill set to what Barkley had coming out of high school? Yes, but there was a lot Barkley needed to improve on and the same can be said for Ford.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, RIVALS.COM NATIONAL RECRUITING DIRECTOR
“It’s unfair to compare them. When I saw Saquon Barkley in high school he wasn’t Saquon Barkley. He was a very good player. He was a good, upright runner but he was not the same guy we saw dominate the last couple years. He didn’t have the lower-body strength and he wasn’t a dominant pass-catcher coming out of high school. He was good but he wasn’t as elite as he became.
“Ford is a big kid, a tall running back, and is not super elusive but very decisive and he has very good vision. They’re different backs. Ford is more of a one-cut guy where Barkley could make you miss, hurdle you, run through you. Ford is definitely a talented kid but to compare him to Barkley is unfair.”
