23 DAYS UNTIL THE DRAFT...
Freddie Barnes played wide receiver for the Bowling Green Falcons this past season and was their number one wide receiver. He smashed a plethra of school records and became the all-time leader in nearly every single receiving category there. Even though he has had this success, scouts and pro teams have remained skeptical. Barnes did not even receive an invite to the the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine which some feel was at the very least an injustice. He has had a roller coaster career while playing for Bowling Green, that is for certain.
His freshman season, Barnes contributed as a third receiver and caught 20 passes. His sophomore season is when Barnes would really blossom in to a significant threat to opposing teams as he hauled in 82 passes for 962 yards with 9 touchdowns. Expectations were very high for Barnes going in to his junior season. However, Barnes struggled significantly in '08 and was only able to bring in half of his total the year before in receptions; he did not score once in '08 but did miss three games due to injury. In 2009, Barnes would crush Randy Moss' single-season yardage total for the MAC. He caught an astounding 155 passes but did not seem to get the credit he should have received. Plenty of people at Bowling Green thought he was worthy of Heisman consideration but it never crossed the minds of the powers that be.
I do believe that teams should be cautious of a mound of stats like that, particularly when the career leading up to that was as streaky as it was. Barnes has potential to be a factor at the next level, but I think the phenomenal stats could be misleading as to how well his game will translate in to the NFL. He doesn't have break away speed but he does have exceptional hands. I think that he can be an average receiver, maybe slightly above in the NFL. But time will tell and we will see.
Below, we will take a look at some of Barnes' highlights, stat sheet, and I will also provide a projection below.
This is a very nice highlight reel of Freddie Barnes. If you have time, it's definitely worth taking a look at.
AWARDS AND HONORS:
- 2009 College Football Performance Awards, Elite Wide Receiver Trophy[1]
- 2009 All-American (FWAA)
- 2009 Biletnikoff Award finalist
- Single-season receptions (155, 2009–) (both Division I and All Divisions)
- Single-season receiving yards (1770, 2009–)
- Career receptions (298, 2009–)
- Single-season touchdown receptions (19, 2009–)
- Single-game receptions (22, 2009–)
- Single-game receiving yards (278, 2009–)
- Mid-American Conference record
- Bowling Green record
CAREER STATS:
| Stats Overview | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | |||||||||
| YEAR | REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | FUM | LST |
| 2006 | 20 | 203 | 10.2 | 31 | 2 | 96 | 405 | 4.2 | 26 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 82 | 962 | 11.7 | 44 | 9 | 3 | 11 | 3.7 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | 41 | 364 | 8.9 | 22 | 0 | 22 | 86 | 3.9 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | 155 | 1770 | 11.4 | 59 | 19 | 25 | 78 | 3.1 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Regular Season Game Log | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | |||||||||||
| DATE | OPP | RESULT | REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | FUM | LST |
| 9/3 | Troy | W 31-14 | 15 | 157 | 10.5 | 31 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/12 | @Missouri | L 27-20 | 10 | 70 | 7.0 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 11.5 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/19 | @Marshall | L 17-10 | 17 | 109 | 6.4 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/26 | Boise State | L 49-14 | 4 | 24 | 6.0 | 10 | 0 | 2 | -13 | -6.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/3 | Ohio | L 44-37 | 7 | 84 | 12.0 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/10 | @Kent State | W 36-35 | 22 | 278 | 12.6 | 55 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 3.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/17 | @Ball State | W 31-17 | 10 | 160 | 16.0 | 41 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 6.0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/24 | Central Michigan | L 24-10 | 14 | 172 | 12.3 | 51 | 1 | 2 | -11 | -5.5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/3 | @Buffalo | W 30-29 | 8 | 122 | 15.3 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/12 | @Miami (OH) | W 35-14 | 10 | 109 | 10.9 | 59 | 2 | 3 | 25 | 8.3 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/20 | Akron | W 36-20 | 12 | 197 | 16.4 | 53 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 3.8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/27 | Toledo | W 38-24 | 9 | 69 | 7.7 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Postseason Game Log | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | |||||||||||
| BOWL | OPP | RESULT | REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | FUM | LST |
| ROADY'S HUMANITARIAN BOWL | @Idaho | L 43-42 | 17 | 219 | 12.9 | 51 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
SUMMARY AND PROJECTION:
I have to say that I respect what Barnes did as a college football player, but I just get the feeling that his game won't pan out the same in the NFL. As I mention above, I believe that he would be a good possession slot guy, but nothing more, nothing less. Since he isn't a big special teamers guy, he is really going to have to impress the coaches and stand out on whatever team that elects to draft him or bring him on to try out for a spot. He is one of the more interesting prospects considering his stats and current stock status. He is 6'0" and 206 LBS.
Possibilities -- 6th Round: Picks 170-207, 7th Round: 208-223.
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