Two years ago, Brad Barnes looked like a bust. A highly-touted offensive lineman coming out of high school, Barnes had seen only spot duty as a backup offensive guard. With the emergence of Josh Lawson and Evan Routzahn, both a year younger than him, it looked as if Barnes might never see meaningful playing time.
That was then. Now Barnes, a senior from Grafton, Va., is a captain for the Cavaliers and a two-year starter at right tackle. He has been Virginia's best offensive lineman throughout the 2000 season. He has transformed himself from a 6-foot-8, 305-pound benchwarmer to an NFL prospect and silenced the critics who predicted he would never make an impact for the Cavaliers.
"A lot of people said that," Barnes said. "I guess I'm redefining my career as a football player, and that's what I set out to do, prove a lot of people wrong. A couple of people in particular had a lot to say about me, and I just wanted to show them."
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Barnes certainly has proven himself since becoming the starter at right tackle. He started all 12 games last season as part of a stellar line that cleared a path for Thomas Jones, the Cavs' all-time leading rusher. The Cavaliers averaged over 400 yards of offense per game in Barnes' first year as a starter.
This season has been no different for Barnes and the Cavalier offense. Barnes has helped clear the way for Antwoine Womack and helped protect Dan Ellis in a Cavalier offense averaging 27 points per game.
"Brad has played up to his potential," offensive tackle Jermese Jones said. "Out of all the offensive linemen, he's graded out the best out of all of us. He's improved in his leadership on and off the field. He's a great player on this offensive line."
The success of the Cavalier offense has been vindication for Barnes after he was beaten out for the starting left guard job in 1998 by Lawson, then a redshirt freshman.
"You see that and you think, I guess I should be doing these things to get better; I'm not good enough," Barnes said. "It used to really eat me up, but if the same thing happened to me again, I wouldn't worry about it. There are more important things in life than being a good football player."
Barnes earned the Speed Elliott award last season, given annually to the Cavaliers' most improved player. In addition, he was named honorable mention All-ACC.
In the process of redefining his career, Barnes has transformed himself into an NFL prospect. The NFL Draft Digest lists him as a probable pro guard, one of 26 top prospects at that position.
"Any college football player thinks" they have a chance at the NFL, Barnes said. "But I've still got more games to play here. It's a long, tough road to follow, but I'll give it a whirl and see what happens."
Virginia has several top-notch opponents down the stretch this season, but the North Carolina game is especially important to Barnes, who picked the Cavaliers over the Tar Heels and Tennessee coming out of high school. Barnes also has family loyalties to consider when Virginia faces UNC.
"Carolina is my little brother's favorite team, so it's a huge competition between me and him," Barnes said. "When I came up here on my [recruiting] visit, he wore a North Carolina sweatshirt the whole weekend. I was like, 'Hey, Ben, take that off!' I'll never hear the end of it from him. This is the last time I play Carolina, so we've got to beat them."
With only five more regular season games, Barnes is entering the home stretch of his career. But no matter how the end of his career plays out, Barnes feels that he has silenced his critics and proven himself as a Division I player.
"I've done everything I wanted do to," Barnes said. "I just want to finish out and have a good season. I've done a lot of stuff that football's given me the opportunity to do that a lot of people haven't done. I have no qualms about my career"
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