NY Giants: 5 takeaways from Saquon Barkley's first day at rookie minicamp

Art Stapleton | NorthJersey

Show Caption Hide Caption Video: Barkley- 'It's starting to finally hit me' New York Giants rookie runningback Saquon Barkley speaks to the media before rookie minicamp in East Rutherford, NJ on Friday, May 11, 2018.

EAST RUTHERFORD - Saquon Barkley was clearly the star of the show as the New York Giants rookie minicamp kicked into high gear Friday.

His day started bright and early, included a morning media session and finished up publicly with his first practice since being selected No. 2 overall by the Giants in the NFL Draft two weeks ago.

Here are five takeaways from what we saw and heard from Barkley:

First in, last out

Barkley wasn't kidding when he talked about leaving an impression by doing everything that got him to this point of his career. Former Penn State teammate and now fellow Giants rookie Grant Haley said he and Barkley were the first in the building Friday morning and Barkley made sure he was the last player off the practice field.

Barkley stayed on a far field catching passes from tryout quarterback John O'Korn of Michigan. Barkley and O'Korn were the last players to made their way back into the facility, on the heels of Giants co-owner and team president John Mara and general manager Dave Gettleman.

"When I say leader, you have to start off by leading by example. Try and be one of the first ones in and one of the last ones out," Barkley said. "Try and take care of my body. Try and do all the things on the football field. Run in every spot. When you have to be vocal, obviously it is hard to be vocal because we are all learning and our minds are boggling right now. Whether it is a break down or you are learning something a lot faster than someone else and you try and help them in that area or someone is learning faster than you and you ask them. Those are the ways I will try and grow and to lead."

Bringing the power

Barkley turned heads when he was the first running back to step up to the sled early in practice. The power in his lower body was apparent, and the size of his calves stood out compared to just about any player on the field, including the linemen.

Mastering the playbook

The Giants believe Barkley will be a quick study, and he noted that there were a lot of similarities between the playbook at Penn State and the one Shurmur has put together so far here.

The one difference: where he's lining up pre-snap.

"Instead of running out of the gun all the time, they run out of the ‘I’. That is really the biggest difference in terminology," Barkley said. "It is harder to learn by yourself. I had the playbook before and was looking over it and it is hard to learn there. It is easier to learn when coach Johnson is in front and he is telling you this and this. This is why we do this and this is why we do that. It starts to come to you quicker. The best way to learn is actually doing it on the field."

Give and receive

Barkley caught every pass thrown to him Friday, including one on a crossing route from Kyle Lauletta that he made look easy. It wasn't, though, as Barkley reached behind for the pass in traffic, then slipped past two defenders as he raced up the field.

The value of what Barkley can bring to the passing game is undeniable.

More than a running back

Barkley wants to smash the label of running back, proving he can do whatever it takes to help the Giants win. At one point Friday, he had a blocking shield and was going through the paces in special teams drills.

While extremely unlikely he will be asked to play that role, his willingness was evident.

"Completely more than a running back. That is why when people try and put the ‘why should a running back go that high?’" Barkley said. "Obviously, you look at the past three years and the position of the running backs and what the Zeke’s and the Le’Veon’s have been able to do, they are more than a running back. I look at myself as more than a running back. I am not a guy that just lines up in the back field and is going to bang his head, bang his head, bang his head. I am a guy that is willing to do anything for his team. Whether it be a kick returner or a punt returner, running down on kickoffs, lining up in the slot, running a dummy play or a fake play, whatever it takes. I want to be an athlete, not just a running back. Obviously, I play the running back position but I want to be an all-around guy and an all-around player."

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