section_path: College career/Junior year
section_name: Junior year
paragraph_text: Junior year
  
  In the first game of the 2017 season against Akron, Barkley ran 14 times for 172 yards, two rushing touchdowns, and a long run of 80 yards. He also caught two passes for 54 receiving yards. For his efforts, Barkley was named co- Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.
  
  In Penn State's 2017 Big Ten opener, at Iowa, Barkley led Penn State to a 21–19 win, recording 358 all-purpose yards. He also set a school record for most all-purpose yards in a single game, recording 211 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown, 94 receiving yards, and 53 kick return yards. For his efforts, Barkley was again named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.
  
  In the first Big Ten home game of his junior year against the Indiana, Barkley rushed 20 times for just 56 yards, an unusually underwhelming rushing day for him. Despite this, he still had a major impact on the game, returning the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, catching four passes for 52 yards, and throwing a 16-yard pass to receiver DaeSean Hamilton late in the fourth quarter to cap a 45–14 Penn State win. This made Barkley the first player in Big Ten history to record a return and passing touchdown in the same game. Barkley was named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week. One month later against Ohio State, Barkley again returned the opening kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown, but was limited for the rest of the game recording 44 rushing yards on 21 carries, 36 of which came on a touchdown run in the second quarter. In his final collegiate game at Penn State, Barkley rushed for 137 yards and scored two touchdowns, one of them a 92-yard effort to put Penn State up 28–7 over the Washington Huskies in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl, which Penn State went on to win 35–28. On December 31, 2017, following Penn State's Fiesta Bowl victory, Barkley declared his intention to forgo his senior year at Penn State and enter the 2018 NFL draft.
  
  In the first game of the 2017 season against Akron, Barkley ran 14 times for 172 yards, two rushing touchdowns, and a long run of 80 yards. He also caught two passes for 54 receiving yards. For his efforts, Barkley was named co- Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.
  
  In Penn State's 2017 Big Ten opener, at Iowa, Barkley led Penn State to a 21–19 win, recording 358 all-purpose yards. He also set a school record for most all-purpose yards in a single game, recording 211 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown, 94 receiving yards, and 53 kick return yards. For his efforts, Barkley was again named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.
  
  In the first Big Ten home game of his junior year against the Indiana, Barkley rushed 20 times for just 56 yards, an unusually underwhelming rushing day for him. Despite this, he still had a major impact on the game, returning the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, catching four passes for 52 yards, and throwing a 16-yard pass to receiver DaeSean Hamilton late in the fourth quarter to cap a 45–14 Penn State win. This made Barkley the first player in Big Ten history to record a return and passing touchdown in the same game. Barkley was named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week. One month later against Ohio State, Barkley again returned the opening kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown, but was limited for the rest of the game recording 44 rushing yards on 21 carries, 36 of which came on a touchdown run in the second quarter. In his final collegiate game at Penn State, Barkley rushed for 137 yards and scored two touchdowns, one of them a 92-yard effort to put Penn State up 28–7 over the Washington Huskies in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl, which Penn State went on to win 35–28. On December 31, 2017, following Penn State's Fiesta Bowl victory, Barkley declared his intention to forgo his senior year at Penn State and enter the 2018 NFL draft.