Often we hear about young athletes looking up to NFL players as role models and icons. But honestly, the real leaders are in collegiate sports. As a Penn State graduate, I have seen dozens of student-athletes pumped through the system of academic pressure versus perfecting their craft, but Saquon has succeeded both.

Here are five reasons why Saquon Barkley is a role model:

1. He focuses on academics.

With above a 3.0 GPA, Barkley excels in all his academics. He's been named the Highmark Student-Athlete of the week multiple times for his hard work on and off the field. To the average college student, we know how hard it is to juggle school and life alone, but Barkley is a great example of time management.

2. He's humble.

I've seen this kid in every social setting you could think of and each time he has stopped to have a full out conversation with me. Now again, I've met and worked with hundreds of student-athletes and some feel like they are too good to acknowledge us little people but not Barkley. He's not cocky or feels like he's too good for us. He's patient, funny and humble AF.

3. He's a true leader.

Even though Barkley is a household name when it comes to Penn State Football, he gives all his credit to his team. He takes advantages of opportunities on the field and fears no one. His leadership skills on and off the field do not go unknown.

4. Family is everything to him.

Family comes first in Barkley's priorities. The leading lady in his life is his beautiful mother Tonya Johnson.

5. Simply put, he's the GOAT.

His work speaks for itself. I've seen this man do things that most NFL athletes couldn't dream of doing.

So needless to say, he doesn't need to be getting paid millions of dollars to be your kid's role model, he does it because he loves it.