John Truby, then Bethlehem (Pa.) Liberty's first-year coach, stood in the Whitehall (Pa.) High end zone and was concerned -- really concerned -- about that night's matchup. He has a player, receiver KJ Williams, who was committed to Syracuse in the 2014 class. Williams was well-known in the area. But Truby kept thinking about the opposing running back, who was a junior. Truby was one of the few folks who really knew about him.
"He's committing to Rutgers," said Truby, who was foreshadowing what would take place the next day. "He's incredible."
It was Sept. 6, 2013, in eastern Pennsylvania. Saquon Barkley was barely known in recruiting circles.
Rutgers offered. Penn State and Indiana inquired.
That was it. Those were the programs who cared enough to inquire about him.
After that four-touchdown and 211-yard effort on 13 carries in a 28-19 win, Barkley was suddenly a commodity the rest of the nation needed to learn about -- and fast.
The backward-jumping, explosive-playmaking Barkley is a key cog for the Philadelphia Eagles' offense entering Sunday's Super Bowl LIX matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.
But on that night at Whitehall, there was a more basic question: Who is this kid?
There was still a lot to learn -- how Barkley, who is originally from the Bronx, found his way to Rutgers for a June camp and lit it up, and how Penn State was not already all over him -- but by halftime, it was clear that he would be recognized on a national level.
"He is a natural runner," read the live evaluation done for Scout.com, a media outlet that 247Sports later acquired, after the game. "He can run between the tackles, has speed to get to the outside, knows how to set up blocks, can accelerate through the hole and has elusiveness.
"Barkley also demonstrated an ability to get yards after contact, an elusiveness to avoid defenders at the line of scrimmage and he can catch the ball out of the backfield."
Barkley scored on runs of 33, 41, 50 and 57 yards in the game.
The movement, vision and running style shown now was present then as well.
"Barkley has very good balance and he has a thick lower body, which enables him to run through arm tackles," the scouting report read. "He also demonstrated a nice stiff arm to keep tacklers away."
About 12 hours after that game, Barkley was at Rutgers. He was there to watch the Scarlet Knights host Norfolk State for a noon kickoff and commit to then-coach Kyle Flood after the game.
A month after Barkley committed to Rutgers, he visited Penn State. A few days later, the Nittany Lions offered. But it was not until Feb. 19, 2014, that he flipped his commitment from the Scarlet Knights to Penn State.
Williams wound up going to junior college at East Mississippi while Barkley had big junior and senior seasons with Whitehall.
Barkley ran for 1,851 yards and 24 touchdowns on 216 carries as a senior before signing with Penn State in February 2015.
He was the nation's No. 77 overall prospect, No. 6 running back and No. 1 player in Pennsylvania for the 2015 class.
Barkley was two games into his junior season of high school that night at Whitehall. What was written on first blush of seeing him live still holds true.
"Barkley is a high-level back with the ability to make defenders miss behind the line of scrimmage," the scouting report said in summation. "He is also a natural runner with a very good feel for the position, and can be a factor in the passing game."
