Penn State Football is carrying plenty of hype going into the 2017 season, a lot of which is riding on the back of star running back Saquon Barkley. But in a world where we use music to tell the best stories, “Hit The Quan” (er, “Hit The Quon”) just isn’t enough.
Penn State junior and rapper Matt Freiler, who goes by Matty Fresh, decided to document the hype and wrote and recorded an anthem for Barkley, aptly named “Saquon Barkley.” The song, a two minute, 45 second rap also featuring senior Carl Bostick AKA Siiire, is similar to “Do The John Wall,” with first-person lyrics that boast about what led Barkley to become a college football standout.
The song touches on everything from Barkley’s odds of being named the next Heisman Trophy recipient (“Fly from Indy out to NYC, to collect my Heisman trophy”) to his seemingly inhuman speed (“I run a hundred yards faster than you jaywalk bro”) and strength (“I been deadlifting heavy”). Matty Fresh and Siiire also poke a little fun at other Big Ten teams that didn’t fare so well last season, with lyrics about Penn State stunning Ohio State and third-place Michigan.
Freiler started writing the song just after Penn State’s heartbreaking loss in the Rose Bowl and worked on it for about seven months. A student at Penn State Berks at the time, he would use his daily commute to play the beat over and over again until he perfected the song. Once the lyrics were solid, Freiler spent eight hours in the studio recording and mixing and ultimately released the track on July 26 on Twitter.
“Saquon Barkley” isn’t Freiler’s first song. He went semi-viral with “Skook State of Mind,” an anthem about his hometown in Schuylkill, Pennsylvania that he also recorded with Bostick. “I wanted [to write] something with a similar feeling when I moved to Main Campus. Something that everyone around me could relate to and get excited about. I knew Saquon was the perfect guy to write about because of his electrifying play and rising national attention.”
We’ve all seen the Penn State football hype videos that start to come out this time of year, and that same intensity is something Freiler wanted to capture with the song. Andrew Peters created a video for the song for Freiler — highlighting clips of Barkley’s performance and Penn State hype in general — that already has more than 3,800 views on YouTube.
“I wanted to create something that could add to the hype of an already buzzing student body and fanbase,” he said. “Although the 2016 season had ended on a devastating note, everyone seemed excited about 2017.”
If you think the song would fit in perfectly between “Zombie Nation” and “Livin’ On A Prayer,” you’re not alone. About an hour after Freiler posted about the song on his Twitter, PJ Mullen (who determines what music will be played in Beaver Stadium) reached out and asked if he could play the song at football games this fall, to which Freiler happily granted permission.
Exactly what I had envisioned for the song when I wrote it… Beaver Stadium Soundtrack @SiiireYKMG pic.twitter.com/rVoUpLY1eB
— matty fresh (@mattyfreshtunes) July 27, 2017
Freiler, who will be at University Park starting this fall, thinks the song would be the perfect track to blast over the Beaver Stadium speakers after Barkley scores a touchdown. Regardless, he’s hoping to continue to develop and promote the song, ideally getting the chance to create a music video starring the man himself.
“In the future, I hope to link up with a talented group of Film majors and put together a music video featuring Saquon, other members of the team, and maybe even Coach Franklin.”
“I can dream,” he added.
You can download the song for free from Freiler’s Soundcloud. Here are the full lyrics:
CHORUS: Ball up in this bitch, call me Saquon Barkley Saquon Barkley I been doing tricks, call me Saquon Barkley I grew up in Coplay About to win the ship, call me Saquon Barkley
(If they go low, I go over the top!)
VERSE 1 (MATTY FRESH): Number two-six on the jersey High in the sky like a birdie Defenses trying to hurt me Imma go rush for two-hundred and thirty Got the handoff and I’m giving no mercy The 50, the 40, the 30… And when they toss me the rock I get off my block Ay look at me Herbstreit!
Big Ten champs, yeah we coming for the natty Trace McSorley by my side, he fake that read and then he hand me I run that 4.3 forty Boy ain’t nothing that can slow me Fly from Indy out to NYC, to collect my Heisman trophy
I been deadlifting heavy Balling out with Mike Gesicki 107,000 fans, Urban Meyer wasn’t ready The offense driving like a Chevy Blue and white been on a mission Harbaugh’s bitching at the referee about third place in the division
(CHORUS)
BRIDGE (MATTY FRESH): It’s that Saquon show Yeah it’s the Saquon show I run a hundred yards faster than you jaywalk bro It’s ABC up on that primetime, they all know What’s about to happen when I get that rock and go, go, go!
VERSE 2 (SIIIRE): Running fast like damn Tell em catch me if you can I don’t need no stretch bands Cause I’m tryna stretch my bands
Stick shift, number 26 Andre Robinson thats number 6 Miles hit you with a swimming pool Mark Allen with the dance moves
Been had it, coach Franklin N****a what is you thinking Ohio State, we left em stinking We just money in the making
Saquon gon run the rock The defense gon make it pop Hitting my dab, and steady finessing Cause you know we taking it to the top
(CHORUS)
(We Are… Penn State chant)
