Freddie Lee Barnes (born December 6, 1986) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Bowling Green Falcons The Bowling Green Falcons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Bowling Green State University (BGSU), in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The Falcons compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Divi ...

. He was signed 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

of the

(NFL) as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2010. During

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, including the

Humanitarian Bowl The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, previously the Humanitarian Bowl (1997–2003, 2007–2010) and the MPC Computers Bowl (2004–2006), is an National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA-sanctioned post-season college football bowl game that has be ...

, Barnes accumulated an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision record 155 receptions for 1,770 yards, 19 receiving touchdowns, as well as two rushing touchdowns. The 155-reception total not only surpassed the Division I record, but also an NCAA All-division record. He also broke

Randy Moss Randy Gene Moss (born February 13, 1977) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Tennessee Tit ...

' single-season

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

yardage record. In addition, he established several

Bowling Green Falcons football The Bowling Green Falcons football program is the intercollegiate College football, football team of Bowling Green State University. The team is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA, playing at the NCAA Division I, Divi ...

records during the season. During his senior season, in established numerous receiving records, was named a 2009 College Football All-American and was one of three 2009

Fred Biletnikoff Award The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...

finalists. Previously, he had been a multisport athlete at

Homewood-Flossmoor High School Homewood-Flossmoor High School (H-F) is a comprehensive public high school in Flossmoor, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The school serves an area of nearly , drawing students from Homewood, Flossmoor, and parts of Chicago Heights, Glenwoo ...

Early years

Barnes attended

Flossmoor, Illinois Flossmoor () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 9,704 at the 2020 census. Flossmoor is approximately south of the Chicago Loop. It is closely tied to neighboring Homewood, Illinois, Homewood, sharing a high ...

, where he earned three letters for the Vikings playing

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

. He served as team captain and was named team MVP, as well as All-Area and All-Conference in 2004. Barnes also lettered in basketball, where he was a teammate of

Julian Wright Julian Emil-Jamaal Wright (born May 20, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Kansas. In 2014–15, he was the top rebounder in the Israel Basketball Premier League. Hig ...

. Considered only a two-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com (stylized as ''rivals'') is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was found ...

, Barnes was not ranked among the nation's elite quarterback prospects in 2005. He chose Bowling Green over

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school (teachers' ...

and

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

College career

Barnes' freshman season he caught 20 passes for 203 yards, two touchdowns, and rushed for 405 yards and 9 touchdowns. As a sophomore, he caught 82 passes for 962 yards and 9 touchdowns, and was selected for All-

third-team honors. He caught 41 passes for 364 yards, but no touchdowns as a Junior in 2008.Player profile
ESPN During his senior year in 2009 he accumulated 16 touchdown catches and a league leading 138 receptions. He is third in reception yards with 1,551, and among his season's highlights was a school-record 22-catch effort (one short of an NCAA single-game record) for 278 yards, including three touchdowns, in a 36–35 victory over

Kent State Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Ashtabula, Burton, East Liverpool, Jackson Township, New Philadelphia, ...

. Barnes was four receptions away from matching the NCAA single-season record as Bowling Green awaited its bowl game against the

Idaho Vandals The Idaho Vandals are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing the University of Idaho, located in Moscow, Idaho. The Vandals compete at the NCAA Division I level as a member of the Big Sky Conference. The Idaho Vandals football, footbal ...

. In his final game at Bowling Green against the Idaho Vandals in the

, Barnes had 17 receptions for 219 yards and 3 touchdowns including a go-ahead score with 32 seconds left in the game. It turned out to be enough time for the Vandals to answer on their final drive, and they converted a

two-point conversion In gridiron football, a two-point conversion, two-point convert, or two-point attempt is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that ...

for the win. Barnes established both new

Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

and All Division single-season reception records by surpassing Manny Hazard and Nick Smart, respectively. On the season, Barnes' 1770 yards surpassed

MAC single-season total. Barnes also surpassed several school records such as single-season

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

receptions and career receptions. Barnes' yardage total and yards per game were second to Danario Alexander among FBS receivers for 2009. Barnes was chosen as one of three finalists for the

. Notre Dame's

Golden Tate Golden Herman Tate III (born August 2, 1988) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish footb ...

won the award. Barnes was also discussed as a

dark horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person, team or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, that is unlikely to succeed but has a fighting chance, unlike the underdog who is exp ...

candidate for the 2009

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

, despite being on a BCS non-AQ conference team and not being a quarterback, based on thirty more catches than any other receiver and being close to the top in touchdowns. Barnes was named to the All-Mid-American Conference first-team on December 2, 2009, and on December 12, he was named a 2009 All-American by the

Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

Statistics

College awards and honors

* 2009 All-American (''FWAA'') *2009

Biletnikoff Award The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...

finalist ;

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

record *Single-season receptions (155,

–2016) (both Division I and All Divisions) ;

record *Single-season receiving yards (1,770,

–) ;

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

record *Career receptions (298,

–) *Single-season touchdown receptions (19,

–) *Single-game receptions (22,

–) *Single-game receiving yards (278,

–)

Professional career

2010 NFL Draft

Wes Bunting of ''National Football Post'' opined that Barnes may lack the speed to be an elite NFL receiver, but stated that "he certainly has the talent to fill out an NFL receiving corps." At the

2010 East-West Shrine Game 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

practice, Barnes "impressed scouts with the ability to consistently separate from defensive backs and find the openings in the coverage," according to ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

's'' Tony Pauline.

Chicago Bears

Barnes signed as an

with the

on April 24, 2010. He was waived on September 3, and was re-signed to the team's practice squad on November 2.

Chicago Rush

Barnes was also a member of the Arena Football Team

Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. The team was founded in 2001 and played in the Arena Football League's Central Division. The Rush qualified for the playoffs in 11 of 12 AFL seasons, during w ...

, having signed a contract on October 8, 2010. He was on a league exemption during his stint with the

after being signed to the practice squad on November 2, 2010. He then returned to the Rush on December 15, 2010, after being released by the Bears.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Barnes was signed to the practice roster of the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

on August 9, 2011. He appeared in one regular season game in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, but was released on January 31, 2012.

Personal life

His hometown is

Chicago Heights Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,480 at the 2020 census. A south suburb of Chicago, it is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Its nicknames include "The Crossroads of the Nation" and ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. His mother, Clarissa Charles, who had him at age 14, dropped out of high school, but later earned her high school equivalency degree, then her college degree.

References

External links

Official biography at Bowling GreenBarnes
at

ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...

Barnes
at NCAA.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Freddie 1986 births Living people Players of Canadian football from Chicago Players of American football from Chicago American football wide receivers Canadian football wide receivers Bowling Green Falcons football players Chicago Bears players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Chicago Rush players Homewood-Flossmoor High School alumni