section_path: Early life
section_name: Early life
paragraph_text: Early life
  
  Barkley was born in The Bronx, New York, the son of Alibay Barkley, a boxer, and Tonya Johnson. He has three brothers and two sisters. His brother Alibay Jr. was a baseball player drafted by the Los Angeles Angels, and his great uncle is former WBC middleweight champion Iran Barkley.
  
  In 2001, Barkley and his family moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley, in search of a safer and more suburban environment. The family later moved to neighboring Allentown and, in 2005, to Coplay, Pennsylvania.
  
  Barkley attended Whitehall High School in Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, which competes in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, an elite division of large high schools in the Lehigh Valley and Poconos known nationally for producing a large number of NFL and other professional athletes.
  
  At Whitehall High School, Barkley rushed for 3,646 yards with 63 touchdowns from his sophomore to senior year, including 1,856 yards and 31 touchdowns as a senior. Barkley was rated as a four-star recruit and committed to Penn State to play college football. He originally committed to Rutgers before changing to Penn State.
  
  In 2014, Barkley was co-winner of the annual Mr. Pennsylvania Football award for the state's top player in divisions AAA/AAAA. His co-winner at the A/AA level was Dominick Bragalone.
  
  In addition to football, Barkley also lettered in basketball and track and field at Whitehall. As a senior in 2015, he won Eastern Pennsylvania Conference gold medals in both the 100-meter dash (11.15 seconds) and in the long jump (22 ft 2.5 in (6.769 m) at the PIAA District 11 meet, where he also earned a second-place finish in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.90 seconds, which set a Whitehall High School record. Later in the track and field season, Barkley set personal best marks of 46 ft 2.5 in (14.084 m) in the shot put and 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) in the high jump.
  
  Barkley was considered a top NCAA Division I football prospect and received multiple football scholarship offers, including from Missouri, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Temple. He chose to accept an offer from Penn State.
  
  On September 10, 2021, Whitehall High School retired Barkley's jersey number (#21). Earlier, the school had retired the jersey numbers of two other alumni who went on to have successful NFL careers: Matt Millen, who played from 1980 until 1991 with the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Washington Redskins; and Dan Koppen, who played from 2003 until 2013 with the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos.
  
  Barkley was born in The Bronx, New York, the son of Alibay Barkley, a boxer, and Tonya Johnson. He has three brothers and two sisters. His brother Alibay Jr. was a baseball player drafted by the Los Angeles Angels, and his great uncle is former WBC middleweight champion Iran Barkley.
  
  In 2001, Barkley and his family moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley, in search of a safer and more suburban environment. The family later moved to neighboring Allentown and, in 2005, to Coplay, Pennsylvania.
  
  Barkley attended Whitehall High School in Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, which competes in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, an elite division of large high schools in the Lehigh Valley and Poconos known nationally for producing a large number of NFL and other professional athletes.
  
  At Whitehall High School, Barkley rushed for 3,646 yards with 63 touchdowns from his sophomore to senior year, including 1,856 yards and 31 touchdowns as a senior. Barkley was rated as a four-star recruit and committed to Penn State to play college football. He originally committed to Rutgers before changing to Penn State.
  
  In 2014, Barkley was co-winner of the annual Mr. Pennsylvania Football award for the state's top player in divisions AAA/AAAA. His co-winner at the A/AA level was Dominick Bragalone.
  
  In addition to football, Barkley also lettered in basketball and track and field at Whitehall. As a senior in 2015, he won Eastern Pennsylvania Conference gold medals in both the 100-meter dash (11.15 seconds) and in the long jump (22 ft 2.5 in (6.769 m) at the PIAA District 11 meet, where he also earned a second-place finish in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.90 seconds, which set a Whitehall High School record. Later in the track and field season, Barkley set personal best marks of 46 ft 2.5 in (14.084 m) in the shot put and 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) in the high jump.
  
  Barkley was considered a top NCAA Division I football prospect and received multiple football scholarship offers, including from Missouri, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Temple. He chose to accept an offer from Penn State.
  
  On September 10, 2021, Whitehall High School retired Barkley's jersey number (#21). Earlier, the school had retired the jersey numbers of two other alumni who went on to have successful NFL careers: Matt Millen, who played from 1980 until 1991 with the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Washington Redskins; and Dan Koppen, who played from 2003 until 2013 with the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos.