PHILADELPHIA -- Saquon Barkley smiled when his hurdle against Iowa was brought up. Penn State fans and alumni know the play all too well.
On a November night in 2016 against Iowa, Barkley used a reverse hurdle to elude Iowa defensive back Brandon Snyder in a 41-14 blowout victory over the Hawkeyes. The hurdle had the Beaver Stadium crowd in awe, one of the ultimate highlight plays Barkley has created over the last decade.
Was that a better backwards hurdle than the one Barkley converted for the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday? Even the smiling Barkley couldn't fully answer that one.
"It wasn't as cool," Barkley said. "I guess you could say."
Both hurdles were an indicator of how good of a player Barkley is, and the incredible highlights he provides on a weekly basis. On a day which Barkley rushed for 159 yards and had 199 yards from scrimmage, all anyone could talk about was the backwards hurdle in the Eagles locker room.
"I don't know what [he] ate today," said Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell. "I don't think no one has seen that before. That was one of a kind."
Even a harsh critic like Barkley can appreciate the ability he's blessed with. Barkley isn't one to look back and live off another highlight, yet he's fortunate he was given the ability to pull them off.
"You gotta give credit to God. I ain't gonna lie," Barkley said. "Not in a cocky way. I do believe God blessed me. He blessed all of us, but I feel God gave me ability to play this position. He gave me some instincts. Sometimes you just gotta let go and let your God given instincts take over."
Barkley's backwards hurdle is just a microcosm of the dominant season he's having in Philadelphia. His 925 rushing yards this season are the fifth most for any player within his first eight games of a franchise and the 115.6 rushing yards per game trail only Derrick Henry and Ricky Williams for the most rush yards per game in the first season with any team in NFL history.
Already with over 1,000 scrimmage yards, Barkley is on pace for 2,275 yards from scrimmage on the season. He's also on pace for 1,965 rushing yards, which would set the franchise record for rushing yards in a season.
"God has blessed Saquon with some special things," said Jalen Hurts. "I really genuinely pray that he continues to use those things in the fullness of him. That's special stuff that he's capable of doing. We just need him to continue to be that kind of player."
The backwards hurdle will forever live on in Eagles lore. The play may be one of the greatest in franchise history.
"It was the best play I've ever seen," said Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni. " Saquon's play, what I think is so cool, is there are going to be kids all over the country and all over Philadelphia -- I really think about that -- trying to make that play and talking about that play and simulating that play as they play backyard football or Pee Wee Football.
"They aren't going to be able to make it because I think he's the only one in the world that can do that."