Down the stretch of the 2021 season, graduate transfer linebacker Robert Barnes stepped up for the Buffs.
Barnes was particularly visible on Nov. 20 vs. the Washington Huskies, which the Buffaloes won, 20-17, largely due to a stalwart defensive effort.
By game's end, Barnes had tied for the team lead with nine tackles, recovered a fumble and picked off UW's Dylan Morris.
As he goes through his second spring with Colorado, Barnes is eager to replicate his performance vs. the Huskies in a more regular manner looking ahead to this upcoming season.
“I like to talk about the Washington game," Barnes said. "That’s what I want people to expect from me every single game — being that playmaker, 10-plus tackles every game, being able to go out there and showcase what this defense can do.”
Barnes' play against Washington was something of a microcosm of CU's entire inside linebackers room late last season, all of whom were asked to play bigger roles in light of star player Nate Landman going down with a shoulder injury during the Buffs' loss at Cal in late October.
Landman would be unavailable for the remainder of the year and over the final five weeks of the season, more responsibility than every shifted to his fellow inside linebackers.
“Robert Barnes, I thought, played his best five games of the year towards the end of the season," position coach Mark Smith said. "Quinn Perry elevated his game — everyone kind of had to.”
In year two with the Buffs, Barnes' expectations are different.
Whereas in 2021, he was more of a role player until the injury to Landman thrust him into a starring defensive responsibility, Barnes knows that more weight will be on his shoulders this fall.
“I think I’ll go from last year, being a type of situational guy until the end of the year, but this year I’ll be on the field the whole entire time, getting every snap, so I think it’s just transitioning that mindset to (knowing) that I’m going to have to make plays consistently,” he said.
At 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, Barnes joined the Buffs from Oklahoma, where he spent the 2017-20 seasons as something of a hybrid player, rotating between both safety and linebacker.
Barnes' bona fides in the pass game came in part due to his history of playing in the secondary, but this offseason, Smith spoke with him about being more of an asset against the run.
“Robert was really good in coverage and doing things there, and he fit the runs well, but I challenged him — he’s a big, strong man — to be more physical in the run game," Smith said. "He’s accepted that challenge.
“He’s a very coachable player, so when you challenge Robert with something, he’s going to absolutely go out and try to get that done.”
Following CU's Monday evening practice in Boulder, Smith admitted that depth-wise, he was a bit uneasy with how the Buffs' roster at ILB currently looks.
While Barnes and Perry, the two seniors at Smith's disposal, played extensively last season, behind them on the depth chart are largely inexperienced players.
Granted, sophomore Marvin Ham was in for 138 defensive snaps over nine games last year, but first-semester players Eoghan Kerry and Isaac Hurtado plus third-year freshman Mister Williams will all be looking for their first real taste of the field, defensively speaking, in 2022.
“I think Mister and Marvin made a lot of big special teams plays last year,"Barnes said. "I think that just helps with (them) now transitioning and getting more snaps at linebacker — really playing in a game. I think those guys are both going to have huge years for us.”
Despite a lack of experience amongst many of his players, Smith is seeing them take steps in the right direction this spring.
"I’m really proud of the guys like Mister and Marvin that are really developing well from the roles that they had a year ago to now and getting on the field and playing," Smith said. "And Eoghen Kerry as well, that guy’s very smart, he’s got a very high football IQ and he’s able to play in and out of different positions, which is very difficult for a freshman, especially an early enrollee freshman.”
