Saquon Barkley Suggests he can Squat More than Jalen Hurts

Originally posted on Nittany Sports Now | By Joe Smeltzer | Last updated May 27, 2024 9:15 PM ET

It’s no secret to anybody that Penn State legend Saquon Barkley is strong.

After all, his nickname is “Saquads” because, well, I don’t have to spell that out, do I?

Barkley’s new team has a quarterback that’s known for his strength, too.

Kevin Coster’s character in the 2014 film Draft days said quarterbacks “aren’t supposed to be squatting.” Hurts didn’t get that memo. He once squatted 600 pounds, which is most likely more than you’ve ever squatted.

Hurts is stronger than most but Barkley is, at the very least, in the a same ballpark, and he believes that, in at least one area, he’s stronger.

“I don’t think it was a competition,” Barkley told reporters this week, per CBSSports. “That’s the thing you love about being here. You come in you buy into the culture. I haven’t squatted like that for a long time. It’s amazing when you have your quarterback doing that.”

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Barkley, who played his first six NFL seasons with the New York Football Giants and has proven himself to be one of the league’s best backs when healthy, is expected to be a leader on this Eagles team.

Per one of his new teammates, Saquon Barkley has already setting a solid example.

“What I saw [during offseason training], him pushing teammates in the weight room, that gets me excited because honestly … if I can get a guy like that who’s going to come to work every single day and working hard, that’s all that matters,” AJ Brown said per ESPN.

As for Barkley’s strength, well, that was well-known while he was at Penn State. He set a school power clean record with 405 pounds in the summer of 2017, a feat that’s yet to be matched almost seven years later.