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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – It began on October 17, 2015. That day, Penn State's Penn State half-brother Saquon Barkley introduced himself to the world of football with a 194-yard run against Ohio State at the famous Horseshoe. . It was also the beginning of an unexpected friendship.
Barkley was approached after this match near the midfield by Ezekiel Elliott, who was then the junior star of the Ohio State, who remembers jumping over a defender and seeing Barkley do the same thing on the next pass. Elliott had some complementary words for Barkley on the grill and later when he spoke to the media.
"A real big cry to this rookie," Elliott told reporters after the match. "He is really the truth."
Barkley noticed. It meant something to him that Elliott would praise a freshman who was playing his fifth career game.
It was Ezekiel Elliott, the best semifinal of college football and finally the fourth choice in the next NFL draft. Barkley later admitted that he was just surprised to be on the field that day with quarterback Elliott and Buckeyes Braxton Miller. The fact that he opened Elliott's eyes was a bonus.
This triggered a friendship that encouraged both riders to keep in touch ever since. Their second career game will be Sunday night, when Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys host Barkley and the New York Giants at the AT & T stadium.
"When I look at Zeke, I want to do something better than going downhill, understanding situations and taking what the defense offers you – just lower your shoulders and do it."
Saquon Barkley
"We kind of kept in touch after this game," Barkley said of the 38-10 win in Ohio State in 2015.
They texted and talked. Barkley even told Newsday that Elliott had sent him a congratulatory text after being rushed for 106 yards and having a 68-yard touchdown in his NFL debut.
"Hit him right here and there, give him some motivation, see how he's doing," said Elliott.
Elliott and Barkley were supposed to meet and train together in Los Angeles during the off-season, but their schedules did not match. Barkley had to leave a few days before the arrival of Elliott. It was disappointing.
Barkley, the second choice of the Giants this year, is studying almost all the best riders. He watches films by Todd Gurley II (with whom he worked in Los Angeles), Elliott and The & # 39; Veon Bell, among others. Barkley wanted to choose Elliott's brain, and he still intends to do it in the future.
Barkley and Elliott, on the surface, are unexpected friends. Barkley is reserved and soft-spoken, aware of his image and attentive to his words. Elliott is noisier, an emotional roller coaster with a good deal of field incidents on his resume.
But there are similarities: easy smiles, engaging personalities and rare skills.
They can do everything. Giants coach Pat Shurmur said he was pleased with what he called their "collision balance". They both have this unusual trait, which allows them to excel as runners and blockers.
But they take care of their business in different ways. Elliott is a home hitter who plays in the middle of the pack and loves to lower his shoulder in the defenders' chest. Barkley is a great game that is waiting to happen, that runs blank roads but prefers to bounce off the outside.
"Man, I really think that Saquon is a different runner," said cornerback Eli Apple, a former Elliott teammate at Ohio State and has now teamed up with Barkley on the Giants. "Saquon has a crazy shift. Zeke too, but they move differently.
There is something to learn in Barkley by looking at Elliott's band and choosing his brain. Elliott did not run for a total of 1,631 yards by the NFL and was named by All-Pro as a rookie.
"When I look at Zeke, I want to do something better than the descent, understand the situations and take what the defense offers you. Just lower your shoulder and do that, "said Barkley. "Sometimes at the university, I was trying to make sure that three and four [yards] and try to do it sometimes 60.
"Just be more aware of the game. He is a very physical runner. He's fat. He is caught And then he can go out and throw you and catch the ball out of the backfield. And the way he installs his screens. The patience in his screen game is really good. "
Barkley is not too bad in this respect either. He was drafted second – two top picks at Elliott – for a reason.
Elliott thinks his success with the Cowboys has allowed the Giants to pull Barkley into the project.
"It could certainly happen," said Elliott. "But he's a phenomenal player, he's a great player, certainly – I honestly think he was the best player on this project, and he deserved to be chosen so high."
Barkley is now attempting to replicate Elliott's success early in his career, especially in his first year. This is possible. The last two NFL leaders (Elliott and Kareem Hunt of the Kansas City Chiefs) were rookies.
Barkley's 106-yard rushing Sunday was the third-highest total of Week 1, despite being hit in the line of scrimmage or behind him on seven of his eighteen rushes. His 68-yard touchdown – he broke two tackles, had other contacts and was surprised The Jacksonville Jaguar defensemen, with their speed, have confirmed the belief of his teammates that he could have this season of Elliott-like rookies.
"I saw all this. And I played it in college, "said Apple. "He has this greed and he wants to go out and dominate. Very difficult [to tackle]. He is strong and he is shaky. So, he's going to be a big one. "
Just like his friend, who happens to be his divisive rival.
ESPN Cowboys reporter Todd Archer contributed to this story.
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