'Bigger, Stronger' Barnett Excited About His First Spring With Bulls
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, MARCH 20, 2019 – Fully healthy and focused on a big 2019 season, senior
Blake Barnett is soaking up the experience of his first spring with the Bulls.
USF's second-year starting quarterback fired passes all over the field in the Bulls' first spring session Tuesday afternoon, which was a much different situation for the program than this time in 2018.
"A year ago, we didn't know who the quarterback was going to be," head coach
Charlie Strong said.
Barnett, who arrived on campus last May after the conclusion of spring practice, didn't start taking snaps with the Bulls until last fall after getting a crash course on USF football in the summer as a grad transfer and winning the starting job in camp. What made the feat extra impressive was the fact that Barnett was still a fairly new father to his now 1-year-old son, Brooks, who is now walking and was accompanied by Barnett's wife, Maddie, at practice Tuesday at the Morsani Complex.
"Being able to play out there and play with these guys that I truly, truly care about, and being able to look (from) the field and see my baby is really cool, too," Barnett said last fall.
Barnett's 2018 season accomplishments were pretty cool as well.
The Corona, Calif., native started the first nine games of the year and passed for 2,416 yards (16
th in FBS with 268.4 ypg) and 11 touchdowns. Barnett was on pace to shatter USF's single-season passing record at the point before missing two of the final four games due to injuries. Despite the setbacks, USF's first-year starter posted the fifth-best passing season in school history (2,710 yards), ranked 25
th nationally in total offense (273.7 ypg) and showed his teammates a lot by orchestrating three double-digit fourth quarter comebacks.
"You get a guy like Blake, who came in and guys have just really taken him in," said Strong last season.
Having an actual offseason with the Bulls has worked wonders for Barnett, who has already added nearly 15 pounds since playing at 212 at the end of the 2018 regular season. He's also hired a nutritionist that will help him keep any additional weight he adds during the grind of class, football and family time this upcoming fall.
"I'm as healthy as possible," he said. "I'm bigger, strong, faster."
Barnett also is as mentally prepared as he can be for USF's first spring under the guidance of new offensive coordinator
Kerwin Bell. The former college head coach is implementing his pro-style passing attack that also includes spread concepts, which helped his 2018 Valdosta State squad win the NCAA D-II national championship with the nation's top scoring offense in the division (52.0 ppg).
"I'm looking forward to being able to take it to the field in the spring," Barnett said Tuesday. "I'd say I have the offense about as good as I can as far as on the chalkboard writing it up. But to be able to go on the field and apply it, it's going to be refreshing and exciting."
Barnett also is eager to pick up valuable tips on the turf from Bell, also his new quarterbacks coach, who played the position professionally for 14 years after earning 1984 SEC Player of the Year honors during his four-year career at Florida (1984-87).
"Obviously Coach Bell has had tremendous success not only in college but in the pros – NFL and CFL," Barnett said. "It's been really nice to be able to get some of his coaching points and understand his offense he's brought in here. I'm looking forward to going out on the field and seeing how he is out there."
Another goal for Barnett this spring is to help the Bulls in the leadership department after a season of building trust with his teammates.
"Last year was kind of tough I felt like at times for me to kind of step up and be that leader when I'd only known these guys for a couple months, literally," he said. "Having a lot more familiarity with the guys on the team, with the coaching staff, I feel a lot more comfortable around here in that aspect."
That's a very good thing for USF, which now knows who the go-to guy is on offense this spring and beyond.
"You have a quarterback who has played," Strong said. "He's been in our program and he understands what we want."
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
In just its 22nd season of football, and 19th at the FBS level, the USF football program has earned 10 bowl appearances, including a current run of four straight, and owns a record of 6-3 in bowl games. The Bulls have appeared in the national top 25 rankings in each of the past three seasons, including a program record run of 20 straight weeks in the top 25, and in 2018 reached the program's 150th win faster than any FBS program in state of Florida history. USF has posted a pair of 10-plus win seasons in the last three years, including a program-record 11 wins (11-2) in 2016, and logged 15 winning seasons overall. Since first taking the field in 1997, the USF program has reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings (2007), seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, 14 named All-American and 29 earn first-team all-conference selection.
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