Sept. 17, 2002
by Jennifer Renaker * Host Communications
When Coleman Barnes stepped foot on the University of Kentucky campus as afreshman five years ago, he never dreamed he would be wearing a Wildcatfootball uniform.
After tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee playingfootball in high school and enduring months of rehabilitation, the 6-0,227-pound long snapper thought his playing days were over.
“It only took about six months for the rehabilitation, but I just didn’t feelconfident enough at that time to play again,” Barnes said.
With the option to walk on at the University of Louisville or Centre College,the Bardstown, Ky., native decided instead to attend UK to focus on hisacademics.
“I grew up in Kentucky and I love it here,” Barnes said. “Growing up andsitting up in the nosebleeds, I always wanted to play for the Wildcats.Everyone always wanted to wear the Wildcat uniform.”
Throughout his freshman year, Barnes continued to practice snapping in hisdorm room or wherever he could, even though he was not playing with a team.But after spending time working in the UK football recruiting office thatsame year, Barnes regained the confidence he had been missing.
“I saw what the team had and I asked them if I could walk on. They said yes,”Barnes said. “I needed to gain weight and I gained about 40 pounds, whichhelped me a lot.”
That confidence and his playing performance earned him the 2000 UK Walk-On ofthe Year award, chosen by the Johnny Unitas Foundation in Louisville.
“That was a really good moment in my life. It was a good feeling knowing Ihad won, especially in the first year at the collegiate level. It gave meconfidence going into next year,” he said.
With the award came the opportunity to meet 2000 Heisman Trophy winner ChrisWeinke and football legend Johnny Unitas at the award ceremony.
“That was a really neat experience being able to meet them,” he said. “Imean, Weinke is a Heisman winner and Unitas is one of the best quarterbacksthere ever was.”
Barnes earned his second varsity letter last season, after gamely playing dueto a nagging right knee injury which he sustained on his birthday, Sept. 22against Florida.
Barnes, who was a member of the Nelson County High School Class 4A StateChampionship team in 1996, said it takes a lot of repetition and confidenceto be a snapper.
“Everyone has to have confidence in each other,” he said. “There arebasically three steps. I know my job is to put it on the money, and fromthere, I have to have confidence in the holder and kicker. They know theyhave a job to do, too.”
In high school, Barnes was selected as the team’s best junior varsity linemanhis junior year and was named the Most Valuable Special Teams Player hissophomore season.
He also was a three-year letterman in baseball, playing first base andearning Best Defensive Player all three seasons. He played one year ofvarsity basketball and won the teams’ Academic Award in all three sports.
In addition to his success on the field at UK, Barnes has excelled in theclassroom. He was a Verizon Academic All-America nominee in 2000, and lastyear he was named to the Southeastern Conference Honor Roll and the VerizonAcademic All-District IV team.
“My personal goal was to get through college in four years and I’ve donethat,” he said.
Barnes, who earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology in May and iscurrently working on his master’s degree in sports management, said athletesmust know how to manage their classes and playing schedule.
“You can always adjust to it, it just depends on how you do it,” he said.”You just have to know how to get up and go to class every day. It doesn’ttake much.”
This advice comes from a player that ended his four years of college with a3.592 grade point average.
He added that playing football doesn’t really interfere with his classschedule. Since games are scheduled on the weekends, the team doesn’t missmuch class time.
Barnes, who was a participant in the UK Schoolhouse Rock academic pep rallyfor 3,000 fourth- and fifth-grade students earlier this year, and a memberof Omicron Delta Kappa and the Golden Key National Honor Society, has setmany personal goals for this season.
“I would like to remain healthy and be flawless,” he said. “I don’t need tomake any bad snaps. I need to put it right on the money.”
If he could change one thing about his football career, it would be hishealth.
“I wish I would have been healthy out of high school,” he said. “I thinksitting out that one year really hurt me.”
Barnes also feels this year’s Wildcat squad should be more competitive thanin the past.
“There’s a lot of unity and everyone has grown together,” Barnes said of histeammates.
“We feel like we can win every game this year. When we lost to U of L lastyear, I think a lot of our hopes faded and we couldn’t find that way to winafter that. We just need to take it one game at a time.”
Barnes said there is a lot he will miss about UK, but the most important willbe stepping out of the Blue and White uniform.
“There is nothing like those Saturday afternoons and nights, coming out ofthat tunnel and seeing 75,000 to 105,000 fans cheering you on,” he said.”I’ll miss the rowdy fans the most.”
