PHILADELPHIA — When Corey Clement met Saquon Barkley, he noticed something in his eyes. It was Dec. 3, 2016, and the two running backs were facing off in the Big Ten championship game. Barkley was playing for Penn State and Clement was playing for Wisconsin.

Wisconsin was leading at the half, 28-14, but Barkley didn’t seem bothered by the score.

“He had a certain trot about him,” Clement said. “Laid back, but a dark look. You knew that mother[expletive] was about to go off.”

He did. Penn State scored three more touchdowns in the second half, two of which belonged to Barkley. Barkley had a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and caught an 18-yard pass from quarterback Trace McSorley in the fourth. Penn State won, 38-31.

It was a game Clement tried to forget, but he never forgot that look, and 10 daysago, he saw it again. The former Eagles running back was named honorary captain ahead of the team’s divisional-round game against the Los Angeles Rams.

He was standing on the field, not far from Barkley, and caught a glimpse of his former Big Ten foe.

“That same look,” Clement said. “I was like, ‘Man, that [expletive] is crazy.’”

Clement, 30, was happy to see it. The two running backs had developed a friendship since their championship game encounter in 2016. They’d taken vastly different paths to the NFL — Barkley was the No. 2 overall pick by the New York Giants in 2018, and Clement signed with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2017 — but shared some similarities.

Both players were big for their position. During Clement’s four years with the Eagles, he weighed about 216-218 pounds. Barkley was closer to 230, but it didn’t impact his speed. He moved like a 180-pound player, flying past defenders, with a fast twitch.

It was something Clement had always admired from afar, and in May 2021, after signing with the Giants, the Glassboro, N.J., native got the opportunity to work with Barkley. Barkley, who was recovering from an ACL tear, approached his new teammate with some advice — and Clement was eager to listen.

Barkley had noticed that Clement was trying to do too much in practice. He encouraged him to focus less on the long runs, and follow his blocks.

“Pressing the hole is what we call it, allowing the linemen just to do their work before you even kick it into the next gear,” Clement said. “As running backs, we always just want to hit the home run as fast as we can. And I think just me being on a new team, I was trying to do everything possible to stay on it.

“So, I had to take a little step back and slow my game down a lot more. And that’s what he told me. ‘Slow it down.’ I didn’t take it as anything negative. I was appreciative of him even saying that. Some people really don’t give a damn to correct you.”

It was not a one-sided relationship. Barkley would pepper Clement with questions, too. Clement remembers one conversation when they were in the Giants’ running backs room. Barkley was on the floor, taped up, and rolling on a foam roller.

He knew Clement had suffered a knee injury of his own, during a game between the Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys in December 2018. So, he asked about it.

“He was like, ‘Bro, is it ever going to come back the same?’” Clement said. “And I just said, ‘Give it time. You’re going to be A-OK. You’re definitely going to come back the same.’”

Clement highlighted the differences in their predicaments. The Giants had invested in Barkley. He didn’t have to rush back from his rehab to prove something to their front office. Clement was not on such stable footing. After he got injured, he heard a rumor that the Eagles might trade him.

That rumor didn’t come to fruition, but it stayed in Clement’s mind. After he suffered a shoulder injury in 2019, the Eagles signed him to a one-year deal in 2020. He became a free agent in 2021, and signed with the Giants.

“I was just like, ‘You’re in a different situation,’” Clement said. “‘You can take your time. You can come back when you are 100%, not 85%.’

“I’m pretty sure he was playing that over and over in his head — ‘I got to get back to myself. Got to get back to myself.’ And I think he’s at where he’s at now because he never let up.”

Barkley had other questions for the former Eagles running back, particularly about the playoffs. There were times during training camp when Barkley, Clement, and a few other teammates would look at their old high school football highlights.

Barkley was quick to point out that Clement had the greatest highlight of all: catching a 22-yard Nick Foles touchdown pass to give the Eagles a 29-19 lead over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.

“He was just like, ‘Bro, you really caught the ball in the end zone in the Super Bowl,” Clement said. “I said, ‘Yeah, man. I caught it.’”

As most Philadelphians know, Clement had more than that one play in 2018. The rookie had four catches for 100 yards (including a 55-yard catch in the second quarter). He also helped execute the famous “Philly Special” in the first half, by taking the snap from center Jason Kelce, breaking left, and tossing the ball to tight end Trey Burton. Foles was waiting in the end zone for the touchdown pass from Burton.

Barkley was desperate to play in the playoffs, and asked his teammate what his experience was like. Clement told him he’d need to tap into another gear.

“I kind of hit the rookie wall, because I went from senior year all the way into the following season, and I expressed that to him,” Clement said. “Get your rest when you can, and show out when it’s time.”

A lot has changed for Clement and Barkley since that summer they shared in the Giants’ running back room. New York released Clement in late August 2021. He bounced from the Cowboys to the Baltimore Ravens to the Arizona Cardinals, before he was released by the Cardinals on Jan. 8, 2024.

Barkley got healthy, signed with the Eagles in March, and is playing better than ever. If there are any doubters left, he has silenced them on the way to becoming just the ninth player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. He has run for another 442 yards on 66 carries with five rushing touchdowns during the Eagles’ playoff run. Now, he has a chance to make Super Bowl history, just like his friend did.

Clement won’t be surprised if he does.

“Saquon’s locked the hell in,” he said.

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