AP

Nearly everyone with Big Blue was giddy at Saquon Barkley‘s 39-yard run on his first preseason carry, with some Giants fans ready to put him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But not everyone was impressed.

“It’s just a run,” Giants quarterback Eli Manning said, via quotes distributed by the team. “Let’s not go berserk yet. It was a good run. The offensive line blocked things well. He had a good cutback. It was a good play.”

Consider that quote part of Barkley’s rookie initiation.

The second overall pick will have to do more than one long run in a preseason game to impress his veteran quarterback, though the run went for more yards than all but two of the Giants’ 394 rushing attempts last season.

Barkley avoided attempted tackles by Emmanuel Ogbah, Christian Kirksey, Damarious Randall and Denzel Ward before Randall finally pushed the running back out of bounds. He finished with a game-high 43 yards on five carries.

“I loved his first run,” Giants coach Pat Shurmur said. “If only they all could be like that. You could see it wasn’t too big for him. He’s probably played before bigger crowds at Penn State. It really wasn’t too big for him, and I think he took the next step in his progress to get ready for the season.”