STATE COLLEGE — Saquon Barkley is nervous about next month’s NFL Draft in Dallas — about how he’ll react when his name is called, whether he’ll cry when he hugs his mother and, sure, which team selects him.

There’s something else, too: whether he might be called home for the birth of his first child.

Last weekend, Barkley and his girlfriend, Anna Congdon, announced on social media that they are expecting a baby. At Penn State’s Pro Day in State College on Tuesday, Barkley said their baby is due April 14.

The NFL Draft is scheduled for April 26-28. So, what if …?

Barkley paused and smiled before answering.

“What happens if the baby’s delivered the same day as draft day? That’s a great question,” Barkley said. “That’s something that we’re actually worried about. But I can tell you that, if that is the case, I’m taking the first plane back to Scranton [where Congdon lives].”

The announcement added another layer to an already fascinating story regarding the 21-year-old running back from Whitehall High. Barkley’s public stock skyrocketed after the recent NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, where he became one of the most-discussed players in the upcoming draft.

NFL scouts and analysts debate daily whether Barkley could be the overall No. 1 pick, whether Cleveland or the New York Giants or an under-the-radar team might select Barkley in the first round. Barkley could become the first running back selected No. 1 overall since Ki-Jana Carter, another former Penn State back, in 1995.

Meanwhile, Barkley played last season, and spent the winter training, knowing that fatherhood awaited this spring. He had not spoken publicly before Tuesday about becoming a father, placing the focus squarely on football, but called the process a “blessing.”

“Now you’re not just training for yourself and training trying to be great,” Barkley said. “This is how you provide for your family. You also have to look at football as a business. Obviously you want to play the sport and have fun with it, but now it’s bigger than you. You have a family to provide for. As I said, I’m super excited. Everything I’m doing is obviously for myself and for my kid.”

Barkley further talked about his father Alibay, who has been open about the “bad choices” he made in New York when he was younger. Alibay Barkley had an admitted drug problem and served time in Rikers Island because of a gun charge that violated his probation at the time.

That prompted Tonya Johnson, Barkley’s mother, to moved the family from the Bronx to the Lehigh Valley. Last week, Barkley’s parents watched in Harrisburg as dozens of House representatives and staffers paraded through the Capitol to get a moment with the running back on “Saquon Barkley Day” in Pennsylvania.

“The thing I’m looking forward to most about being a dad is trying to be a great role model,” Barkley said. “I know I’m going to make mistakes in my life and I know that my father made mistakes in his life. I’m looking forward to being open and honest about the mistakes that he made and the decisions he made.

“… You have to respect him as a man. A lot of people can’t look their kids in the face and tell them the decisions that they made were awful and the mistakes they made were bad. That helped me. You guys every single day talk about how good I am, how good my character is. That’s not because of me. That’s because of my family. It’s my mom and my dad.”

Barkley did not participate in drills at Penn State’s Pro Day. He planned to, but because no NFL running backs coaches attended, opted out of running pass routes for the remaining personnel representing the league’s 32 teams.

Barkley spoke informally with scouts from several teams and has visits planned for early next month. He’s also declared himself finished with combine training but will entertain private workouts from teams that request them.

On Monday, Penn State coach James Franklin said that, raves aside, he thought Barkley had a “very average” performance at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Barkley agreed, saying he expected to run a faster 40-yard dash, clear a higher vertical jump and perform more reps on the bench press.

Those days are behind him, though. “I’m not a combine guy,” Barkley said. “I want you to throw on the film and I want to show that I’m a football player.”

On Saturday, Barkley will be in Coplay for a parade organized by the Borough Council and Whitehall High. Then he’s off to his future.

“April’s going to be a big month for me,” Barkley said. “I tweeted out the other day that big blessings were coming my way. A lot of people thought I was just talking about the draft but I was not only talking about the draft but also my future kid. I’m truly excited.”