Eagles’ Saquon Barkley breaks down his viral backward hurdle: ‘I ain’t trying to do that again’
Eagles running back Barkley told A.J. Greene and Justin Pugh of “Air It Out” that he was drug tested after his viral reverse hurdle against the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday.
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Saquon Barkley made heads turn during the Eagles 28-23 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars after a miraculous 14-yard gain that saw Barkley run through one tackle, spin around another and then hurdle Jags defensive back Jarrian Jones — backward. The Eagles running back joined Air It Out with A.J. Greene and Justin Pugh to break down the viral moment.
“What really happened was I was going to hit a double spin,” Barkley said. “I aborted it. So when I spun, I went to spin again and I just like, it’s probably going to take away from how cool the play is, I really kind of, I thought he was going low. So I was just like it’ll be cool if I just jumped up but my body kind of took over.”
Barkley’s backward hurdle was enough to get the attention of the NFL.
“I got drug tested right after the game,” Barkley said.
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Barkley’s hurdle also went viral on social media, getting the attention of many athletes — including future Basketball Hall of Famer LeBron James.
“Must be the shoes!! Saquon you’re insane,” James posted.
Barkley happened to be wearing the Nike LeBron 4 when he created the viral moment. This led to a new Nike advertisement that pays homage to the King with “Witness” written backwards.
But getting the attention of Los Angeles Lakers star James isn’t anything new to Barkley.
“You know this might sound like a flex,” Barkley said. “This is not my first time LeBron posted me on IG, you know what I mean. So, I’m kind of used to it now. No, I’m just joking. But it’s cool, especially to make that play in his cleat. It means a lot because of the legacy of LeBron, how special of a player he is and what he’s done.”
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But true Penn State fans know this isn’t the first time Barkley completed the backward hurdle. He had a similar play in a 2016 game against Iowa. When asked about coming up with a name for his iconic move, Barkley responded immediately, “I kind of don’t want to dub it because I ain’t trying to do that again to be honest with you … I can’t really give this a name because I have no intentions to ever do that again. If it happens again, it happens.”
Tune into Gameday Central on Sunday as Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith discuss all the key questions surrounding the Eagles’ matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.