“With the second pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the New York Giants select Tupac Barkley, running back, Penn State.”
It might sound weird now, but that was almost the reality for Giants running back Saquon Barkley. It turns out his father, Alibay, almost named him Tupac Makaveli Barkley, paying homage to the late rapper, Tupac Shakur.
Barkley explained the story behind his name on the Bleacher Report show Take it There with Taylor Rooks.
“My dad’s a big Tupac fan, and I think the year before, Tupac died, and he was trying to name me Tupac Makaveli. And my mom was not having that at all,” Barkley said.
Barkley was born on February 9, 1997, about five months after Shakur tragically died on September 13, 1996.
Barkley goes on to say that his father was “real close” to naming him Tupac. Alibay ended up losing the name battle when Saquon’s mom, Tonya, “put her foot down.”
The 2018 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year certainly proved that he didn’t need a legendary name like Tupac to be a generational talent. Despite horrid offensive line play in front of him, Barkley amassed 2,028 yards from scrimmage and 15 total touchdowns in his inaugural season with Big Blue.
Now Barkley will quickly transition from a head-turning rookie to more of a leadership role for the Giants in 2019. The 22-year-old is the undisputed best player on the team and will be the focal point on offense.
With that comes a bigger responsibility and from what we’ve seen thus far, the running back almost known as Tupac, and currently nicknamed SaQuads, has the right stuff between his ears to handle it. And in the process, he might just make a legend out of his own name some day.
