Saquon Barkley will play in bowl game for Penn State

So much for all the chatter about Saquon Barkley skipping a bowl game.

Barkley said after Penn State’s win over Nebraska on Saturday that he will play in the team’s bowl game.

“I never said that I would not play in the bowl game,” Saquon Barkley continued. Says he is playing in the bowl game. “It’s important to me because I love football, and to be really honest, my teammates.”

— Greg Pickel (@GregPickel) November 19, 2017

“Some people probably won’t play, and if they don’t play, that’s on them. But me, I will play in the bowl game.”

— Greg Pickel (@GregPickel) November 19, 2017

Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey skipped bowl games last season and ended up being top-10 picks. Running back is a position that’s seemingly more at risk for injuries than others because they carry the ball so frequently and are tackled more than other players.

Here’s what Barkley said for an SI article published in May about the subject.

“I would have a hard time doing it,” Barkley said. “But I’m not going to sit here and say I would never do it. I don’t know. I could be in a situation next year where I have close to two broken ankles, God forbid, or something going on in my upper body and I can’t play in a game if I’m considering playing in the NFL.”

Yes, Barkley said then that he would consider it. He did consider it, and he’s decided he will play. At 9-2, Penn State is having a good season and set to appear in a big bowl game this season. Being without their best player for such an important game would be rough, but it doesn’t look like they’ll have to worry about it.