LOOK: Saquon Barkley officially graduates from Penn State

For many professional athletes it might take them a few years after turning pro to go back and get their college degree. It’s an accomplishment that gives many of them closure and a sense of achievement from their college football careers. Many players make promises to relatives that they will go back and get their degrees someday. Some make that promise to themselves. Former Penn State legend Saquon Barkley finally graduated from his former school on Saturday, and both he and the Nittany Lions posted about it on Twitter.

Check out the picture below.

🎓💙🤍 https://t.co/L3dtvnqpHn

— Saquon Barkley (@saquon) May 7, 2022

Even though he turned pro early, Barkley had always intended to go back to school and finish his degree. He let that be known in a 2018 column he wrote for The Players Tribune. For the past four years, he’s been working on finishing school and fulfilling a promise he made to his mother and father.

Barkley was largely considered a home run draft pick out of Penn State, and he proved it on the field by becoming the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2018. Barkley rushed for 1,307 yards on 261 attempts as a rookie, averaging 5.0 yards per carry while rushing for 11 touchdowns, and reeling in 121 catches for an additional 721 receiving yards and four touchdowns. But from there, the injuries began, and so too did the unproductive play.

The 2019 season was when Barkley first started to become a less productive halfback for the Giants, playing in 13 games, but he still managed to rush for 1,003 yards and six touchdowns. Additionally, he added 52 receptions for 438 yards and two more touchdowns to that total. But the injuries just kept coming in 2020, and Barkley ended up playing just two games that season, rushing 19 times for 34 yards and no touchdowns. Moreover, he logged six receptions for 60 receiving yards and no touchdowns.

In 2021, Barkley only missed four games due to injuries, which was a relatively fine total compared to the season prior. But in a Giants offense that just couldn’t seem to operate up to par, Barkley was mediocre, at best. He rushed 162 times for 593 yards, averaging 3.7 yards per carry, and ran for two touchdowns. He added just 41 receptions for 263 receiving yards and two touchdown catches.

Simon Gibbs also contributed to this article.