There were not too many bright spots when the Illinois football team faced off against Wisconsin last Friday.
Illinois falling to Wisconsin 45-7 was pretty miserable to watch. Despite the blowout loss, I actually thought a couple of players were impressive and wrote about those players on Saturday. One of the players I mentioned was linebacker, Tarique Barnes.
On Monday afternoon, Pro Football Focus College released their top four highest-graded Big Ten defenders for week eight. Jayson Oweh from Penn State was No. 1 with a grade of 89.2. The No. 2 player on the list was none other than Barnes with a grade of 88.2.
Highest-graded Big Ten defenders in Wk 8
— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 26, 2020
1. Jayson Oweh, Penn St ED - 89.2
2. Tarique Barnes, Illinois LB - 88.2
3. Olakunle Fatukasi, Rutgers LB - 87.0
4. Drew Beesley, Michigan St ED - 86.9 pic.twitter.com/J1t2eFygnV
I will be the first to admit, I didn’t see this one coming. Barnes didn’t have the hype coming out of East High School in Memphis, Tennessee. The three-star linebacker was only ranked as the No. 1421 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 106 outside linebacker. There was not a reason to expect Barnes to bust out.
Beyond his low ranking nationally, Barnes didn’t see much action on defense as a true freshman. He was primarily a special teams guy in all 13 games in 2019. Clearly, though, this kid is ready for the big stage.
I was so impressed with Barnes against Wisconsin. The obvious play that stands out to everyone was his forced fumble followed by him picking the ball up and scoring the lone touchdown for the Illini.
But this kid was all over the field for the Orange and Blue. He led the Illini in forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, defensive touchdowns, sacks and tackles in week one. Barnes was everything for the Illini and will hopefully continue being that force.
Moving forward
I think it is fair to say that Barnes may have earned a starting spot at linebacker. This great showing should at least garner him some consideration for a starting spot. Jake Hansen, of course, will be a starter. But the other two roles at linebacker are wide open.
At this point, the best players have to play. Yes, Barnes is one of the least talented linebackers we have on paper when it comes to recruiting rankings. But this kid needs to see more time and, potentially, a starting job.