Brooks Alexander Barnard (born November 4, 1979) is an American football punter. He played professional football for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL) and for the Rhein Fire in the

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

. He played college football for the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divis ...

at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the Flagship un ...

Early life

Brooks Barnard was born to parents John and Karen Barnard on November 4, 1979 in

Arnold, Maryland Arnold, a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States, located just outside of the state's capital, Annapolis. It is located 18.78 miles south of Baltimore, and 29.97 miles east of Washington, D.C. The population ...

. Former

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

third baseman

Brooks Robinson Brooks Calbert Robinson Jr. (born May 18, 1937) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Baltimore Orioles from 1955 to 1977. Nicknamed "the Human Vacuum Cleaner" or "Mr. Hoover", he is generally c ...

was his namesake. Barnard attended Broadneck High School where he was a four-year letterwinner on the football team and set every school record for both

kicking A kick is a physical strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee strike). This type of atta ...

and punting. He recorded 18

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ball ...

during his high school career. As a senior in 1997, he averaged 42.4 yards per punt and made 96 of 99

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

attempts. Barnard received all-state honors during his junior and senior seasons. He was a member of the

Fellowship of Christian Athletes The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry founded in 1954 and based in Kansas City, Missouri. It has staff offices located throughout the United States and abroad. History FCA was foun ...

.Player Bio: Brooks Barnard
, University of Maryland, retrieved June 8, 2009.

College career

Barnard attended the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

for the fall semester of 1998, but then transferred to the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of ...

, where he majored in

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human health ...

. He walked onto the football team and entered the 1999 season as the back-up punter and as a holder. He saw action in eight games including seven starts. Barnard recorded 39 punts for 1,687 yards including ten inside the opponents' 20-yard line and 11 of 50 yards or longer. He averaged 43.3 yards per punt, which was a school best since 1993, all-time third-best, and all-time best for a freshman player. After his first game action against

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part o ...

, he won the starting position for the Wake Forest game. ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' named him a third-team freshman All-American. In , he started in all 11 games. He set a school record of 44.7 yards per punt, which surpassed Scott Milanovich's 43.8-yard average in 1993. He compiled 13 punts of 50 yards or longer, including a career-long 85-yarder against

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called church (building), churches), Hindui ...

, and 71-, 67-, 67-, 66-, 63-, and 61-yard punts, and eight inside the opponents' 20-yard line. In mid-October, he was the second-ranked punter in the nation, with an average of 46.0 yards per punt. He was included on the watch list for the

Ray Guy Award The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding punter as adjudged by the Augusta Sports Council. The award is named after punter Ray Guy, an All-American for Southern Mississippi and an All-Pro in the National F ...

for college football's most outstanding punter. Barnard was named an honorable mention All- ACC player and ''

College Football News ''College Football News'' (''CFN'') is a magazine and website published by College Football News, Inc., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. News coverage includes scores, statistics, rankings, and reports on college football games. Analysis includ ...

'' honorable mention All-American. Barnard started all 12 games in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

. Barnard was the seventh-ranked punter in that nation with an average of 44.5 yards per punt. Against

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

, he punted eight times for an average of 50.4 yards, with seven of eight going for more than 50 yards, and was named the ACC Specialist of the Week. Against

, he correctly brought down a high snap for the game-tying field goal that allowed a Maryland overtime victory. He was named a ''College Football News'' second-team All-American, a first-team All-ACC, and Academic All-ACC player. Barnard was also a

semifinalist. In

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...

, he recorded 55 punts for 2,373 yards, five touchbacks, 13 inside the opponents' 20-yard line, and a long of 60 yards. Barnard finished his time at Maryland as the school career-leader in punting average. He was named to a first-team All-ACC, Academic All-ACC team, an honorable mention ECAC All-Star player. He participated in the 2003

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. ...

as both a punter and kicker.

Professional career

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

, Barnard was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

on April 29 and then released on August 25.Chicago Bears Transactions

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, retrieved June 8, 2009. He was then signed as a free agent by the

, and during the 2003 season, played in one game and kicked ten punts for 365 yards, including one touchback and four inside the opponents' 20-yard line.Brooks Barnard Stats
ESPN, retrieved June 8, 2009. He was released by the Patriots in December. On December 16, 2003, the Bears claimed Barnard from the Patriots' waiver and extended his contract on December 30. The Bears released him in September 2004. In 2004, Chicago allocated him to the Rhein Fire of the

. In 2005, he was signed by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

on January 19, and waived on July 19, 2005.Transactions

The Sports Network The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language sports specialty channel established by the Labatt Brewing Company in 1984 as part of the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels. Since 2001, it has been majority-owned by comm ...

, retrieved June 8, 2009.

References

External links

Punter Barnard weather the storm
''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', December 8, 2003.
It's Difficult for Kickers to Get a Look
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'', October 28, 2004.
Maryland's Barnard takes punting to an art form

Tribune News Service Tribune Content Agency (TCA) is a syndication company owned by Tribune Publishing. TCA had previously been known as the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (CTNYNS), Tribune Company Syndicate, and Tribune Media Se ...

, January 1, 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnard, Brooks 1979 births American football placekickers American football punters Chicago Bears players Green Bay Packers players Living people Maryland Terrapins football players New England Patriots players People from Arnold, Maryland Sportspeople from Anne Arundel County, Maryland Players of American football from Maryland Rhein Fire players University of Oklahoma alumni University of Maryland, College Park alumni