Barry Sanders or Walter Payton?

Michael Jordan or LeBron James?

Whatever the debate, former Penn State running back Saquon Barkley is ready for it.

Barkley wants to enter the world of sports broadcasting once he's done playing football, but he doesn’t just want to be any old sportscaster. He has a very specific job in mind.

"Something like Stephen A. Smith," Barkley told ESPN, hat-tipping the First Take personality. "I love what he does. I’d love to do something like that. Being an anchor and being a broadcaster is cool, but that’s more reading off a paper or reading off a script. Stephen A. Smith is arguing on TV, especially when he used to be with Skip [Bayless on First Take].

"That’d be a dream job for me."

So, why is a 20-year-old poised to be a top pick in April’s NFL draft and sign a rich contract already thinking about what he’s doing after his football career?

During a meeting with recruits and commits before Barkley’s freshman year, Nittany Lions coach James Franklin said something that has stuck with Barkley ever since: Franklin said the NFL stood for "Not For Long" and urged players to think about what would fulfill them after football was over.

Since then, Barkley has thought about his own path.

When he enrolled at Penn State, Barkley wanted to study business. But soon after starting classes, he realized how difficult it would be to get a business degree. Then it was on to his next option: sports broadcasting, where he could marry his passion for arguing about sports and researching statistics. He was "a little uncomfortable" talking in front of the camera at first, but after years of being interviewed, Barkley said he is "developed" and become "more comfortable."

Barkley believes that even if he plays 10 or 11 years in the NFL and is careful with his money, he'll still need a job once he's done.

"I’m still going to have to provide and help for my family," he said. "You got to find another thing. You find another passion. I love talking about football, and obviously I love playing football, but you may not be able to play football forever, but you can talk about it for a long time."

When asked if he'd be like another Matt Millen -- the former Penn State All-American who became a football commentator following his NFL career and also graduated from Whitehall High School in Pennsylvania, where Barkley attended -- Barkley showed a necessary skill when it comes to being a football broadcaster: He didn't take a side.

"I never want to be like somebody but be my own person, but follow along those lines like a Matt Millen, Michael Strahan. There’s so many players that have transitioned to being an anchor or a broadcaster, and it kind of just goes hand-in-hand.

"Why not have somebody who played this sport and someone who actually lived the sport, lived the grind, offseason workouts, [was] inside the game in all those critical situations? They’re the best to talk about it."