Perhaps no University of Cincinnati football player is as pleased as senior Marcus Barnett to play for a new coach.
As a redshirt freshman playing for Brian Kelly in 2007, the wide receiver caught 62 passes for 862 yards and 13 touchdowns to earn second-team all-Big East Conference honors.
The following year he caught only 30 passes. And when he showed up at Nippert Stadium for spring practice last year, he found that he had been switched to cornerback where he was defending passes instead of catching them.
That would have been OK, Barnett said, but when summer camp began he was back on offense, then switched again to defense briefly and then back to offense again.
"It was frustrating because you want to play a position," Barnett said Thursday, "whether it's offense or defense. You just want a set spot. I was willing to do anything for the team as long as we were winning. I just want to play. I'll play whatever, offense, defense. As long as I'm on the field, I'm happy."
Barnett figures to get that chance this year. Two days into spring practice new coach Butch Jones declared that Barnett will play wide receiver, and that Barnett could be one of the keys to what UC does offensively.
"It's like freshman year all over again," Barnett said. "Hopefully I can have a year like that or even better."
For whatever reason, the 6-foot-2, 175-pound Barnett simply did not get along with Kelly.
"We just didn't see eye to eye," Barnett said.
Not only did Kelly de-emphasize Barnett's role in the offense and later move him to defense, at one point he said that Barnett's all-conference season in 2007 was more a reflection of Kelly's offensive system than it was Barnett's talent.
Barnett says he tried not to pay attention to those comments, but he acknowledged they stung.
"It caught me off guard," Barnett said, "but I don't really feed off of that stuff. It's not going to get me anywhere as a player.
"He can say what he wants. That's just like saying (Michael) Crabtree caught all those balls because of that system. You still got to catch them. You still got to get open. You still got to make the plays. To each his own. He can have his views and everybody else can have theirs."
Kelly's system certainly had a lot to do with Barnett's production in 2007, just as it did with Mardy Gilyard's the last two seasons, but as Barnett said, you don't catch passes by accident.
Jones wants to make sure he takes advantage of Barnett's skills before it's too late. And he's not talking about his defensive skills.
"Your senior year, you've got one opportunity left," Jones said. "There are no do-overs. It's not like PlayStation where you can push the reset button. He's a receiver and he's going to be a receiver, so I think that helps."
Last year, Barnett played in nine games, with 10 receptions for 95 yards and one touchdown. He also made two tackles on defense and broke up one pass.
He didn't complain publicly about his role, but he says now it was a difficult time for him.
"You've just got to take it one day at a time," he said. "You've just got to look at it like some people are not even fortunate enough to be in the situation that I'm in, whether it's bad or good.
"You've just got to look at the positives and the negatives. If I were to transfer, then I would have to sit out or just stay here and stick it out and see if it works out. And it worked out for me."
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100318/SPT0101/3190349/1064/UC+s+Barnett+returns+to+WR+
As a redshirt freshman playing for Brian Kelly in 2007, the wide receiver caught 62 passes for 862 yards and 13 touchdowns to earn second-team all-Big East Conference honors.
The following year he caught only 30 passes. And when he showed up at Nippert Stadium for spring practice last year, he found that he had been switched to cornerback where he was defending passes instead of catching them.
That would have been OK, Barnett said, but when summer camp began he was back on offense, then switched again to defense briefly and then back to offense again.
"It was frustrating because you want to play a position," Barnett said Thursday, "whether it's offense or defense. You just want a set spot. I was willing to do anything for the team as long as we were winning. I just want to play. I'll play whatever, offense, defense. As long as I'm on the field, I'm happy."
Barnett figures to get that chance this year. Two days into spring practice new coach Butch Jones declared that Barnett will play wide receiver, and that Barnett could be one of the keys to what UC does offensively.
"It's like freshman year all over again," Barnett said. "Hopefully I can have a year like that or even better."
For whatever reason, the 6-foot-2, 175-pound Barnett simply did not get along with Kelly.
"We just didn't see eye to eye," Barnett said.
Not only did Kelly de-emphasize Barnett's role in the offense and later move him to defense, at one point he said that Barnett's all-conference season in 2007 was more a reflection of Kelly's offensive system than it was Barnett's talent.
Barnett says he tried not to pay attention to those comments, but he acknowledged they stung.
"It caught me off guard," Barnett said, "but I don't really feed off of that stuff. It's not going to get me anywhere as a player.
"He can say what he wants. That's just like saying (Michael) Crabtree caught all those balls because of that system. You still got to catch them. You still got to get open. You still got to make the plays. To each his own. He can have his views and everybody else can have theirs."
Kelly's system certainly had a lot to do with Barnett's production in 2007, just as it did with Mardy Gilyard's the last two seasons, but as Barnett said, you don't catch passes by accident.
Jones wants to make sure he takes advantage of Barnett's skills before it's too late. And he's not talking about his defensive skills.
"Your senior year, you've got one opportunity left," Jones said. "There are no do-overs. It's not like PlayStation where you can push the reset button. He's a receiver and he's going to be a receiver, so I think that helps."
Last year, Barnett played in nine games, with 10 receptions for 95 yards and one touchdown. He also made two tackles on defense and broke up one pass.
He didn't complain publicly about his role, but he says now it was a difficult time for him.
"You've just got to take it one day at a time," he said. "You've just got to look at it like some people are not even fortunate enough to be in the situation that I'm in, whether it's bad or good.
"You've just got to look at the positives and the negatives. If I were to transfer, then I would have to sit out or just stay here and stick it out and see if it works out. And it worked out for me."
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100318/SPT0101/3190349/1064/UC+s+Barnett+returns+to+WR+