April 10, 2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Former Penn State standout Saquon Barkley will appear in a pair of upcoming ESPN series: "Hey Rookie, Welcome to the NFL" and "SportsCenter Special: QB2RB with Russell Wilson." "Hey Rookie, Welcome to the NFL" debuts Tuesday, April 10 at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN2, while QB2RB with Russell Wilson will first air Tuesday, April 17 at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.
"Hey Rookie, Welcome to the NFL" is a four-part NFL Films-produced series features Barkley and North Carolina State's Bradley Chubb. The series provides a behind-the-scenes looks at the soon-to-be NFL rookies through their final days in college football, to their hometowns, the NFL Scouting Combine, their Pro Days and the 2018 NFL Draft.
Barkley is the fourth Nittany Lion to be featured on the "Hey Rookie" series in the last five years, joining current New York Jet Christian Hackenberg (2016), current Chicago Bear Adrian Amos (2015) and former Baltimore Raven John Urschel (2014) as participants.
"SportsCenter Special: QB2QB/QB2RB with Russell Wilson" featuring the Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl champion quarterback mentoring top prospects in advance of the 2018 NFL Draft. Participants will include quarterbacks Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma), Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State) and J.T. Barrett (Ohio State), and running back Saquon Barkley (Penn State), a projected top-five pick.QB2QB/QB2RB specials will air across the ESPN networks and excerpts of the conversations will be featured on ESPN.com.
Barkley capped his Penn State career by winning the 2017 Paul Hornung Award for the most versatile player in college football, being named the 14th unanimously-selected Consensus All-American in program history and finishing fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting. He cleaned up on Big Ten awards, winning the Chicago Tribune Silver Football, Graham-George Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and Ameche-Dayne Big Ten Running Back of the Year for the second-straight year, as well as the Rodgers-Dwight Big Ten Return Specialist of the Year. Barkley is the fifth player since the Silver Football's inception in 1924 to claim the award twice, joining the elite list of Minnesota's Paul Giel (1952-53), Ohio State's Archie Griffin (1973-74), Indiana's Anthony Thompson (1988-89) and Ohio State's Braxton Miller (2012-13).
The native of Coplay, Pennsylvania finished second in the FBS and led the Big Ten in all-purpose yards (179.15). He also finished in the top 10 nationally in kickoff return touchdowns (2), total touchdowns (23), scoring per game (10.6), rushing touchdowns (18). He was the 24th FBS player to produce 1,000 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in a season since 2000.
Barkley set Penn State's single game all-purpose yards mark with 358 at Iowa (9/23/17), accounting for 211 yards rushing, 94 yards receiving and 53 yards on kickoff return, topping Curt Warner's previous mark of 341 vs. Syracuse in 1981. He earned six Big Ten Player of the Week honors in 2017 (four offensive, two special teams), which are the most in a single season in Big Ten history.
Penn State returns 13 starters (8 offensive, 3 defensive, 2 specialists) and 26 additional lettermen. The Nittany Lions open the season at Beaver Stadium against Appalachian State September 1.
More than 5,100 new season tickets have already been sold for the 2018 campaign. For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and purchasing new 2018 season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays from 10 a.m-6 p.m.
"Hey Rookie, Welcome to the NFL" Episode Premiere Dates
Tuesday, April 10 at 8:30 p.m. - Episode #1 (ESPN2)
Tuesday, April 17 at 9:30 p.m. - Episode #2 (ESPN)
Tuesday, April 24 at 9:30 p.m. - Episode #3 (ESPN)
Tuesday, May 1 at 8:30 p.m. - Episode #4 (ESPN)
"SportsCenter Special: QB2RB - Saquon Barkley" Schedule
Tuesday, April 17 at 8:30 p.m. -- ESPN
Wednesday, April 18 at 12 a.m. -- ESPN2
Wednesday, April 18 at 10:30 p.m. -- ESPN2
Thursday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m. -- ESPNU
Friday, April 20 at 8:30 p.m. -- ESPN2
Saturday, April 21 at 4:30 p.m. -- ABC
Saturday, April 21 at 9:30 p.m. -- ESPN2
Sunday, April 22 at 11:30 p.m. -- ESPNU
Monday, April 23 at 10 p.m. -- ESPN2
Tuesday, April 24 at 10:30 p.m. -- ESPNU
Wednesday, April 25 at 6:30 a.m. -- ESPNU
Wednesday, April 25 at 6:30 p.m. -- ESPNU
Wednesday, April 25 at 10 p.m. -- ESPN2 Friday, April 27 at 6 a.m. -- ESPNU
schedule subject to change