Brahmas’ Barcoo finding groove

Corner matures into top defensive back

During cornerback Luq Barcoo’s first taste of the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2020, he felt pressure creep in whenever he matched up against a bigname opponent.

In Barcoo’s lone NFL start with Jacksonville, Jarvis Landry racked up 143 yards as the Jaguars lost to the Cleveland Browns. Barcoo’s three-game stint also included a 121-yard outing by the Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson.

As Barcoo and the San Antonio Brahmas were preparing for a matchup against the XFL’S top passing offense last week in Seattle, coach Hines Ward told him the matchup was his shot at returning to the NFL. All he had to do was shut down Josh Gordon, perhaps the biggest name in the XFL.

Barcoo responded with a standout performance, notching an interception, four deflected passes, six tackles and a sack, helping contain Seattle’s offense in San Antonio’s 15-6 loss.

For a player who feels he’s been overlooked and forced to prove himself at every step of his career, Barcoo said his standing as the Brahmas’ top defensive draft pick and an immediate standout has been a welcome wrinkle on his push toward a return to the NFL.

“I feel like I needed to get into that groove again. Coming to the XFL allowed me to do that,” Barcoo said. “It definitely humbled me, at first. Once I thought about the benefits of it, I put my pride to the side. It’s one of the best things I’ve done in my life, and I love that I came here.”

Barcoo felt external doubt when he was unrecruited out of Castle Park High in Chula Visa, Calif. Coming from one of the area’s smaller schools and dealing with a hamstring injury during his senior season, Barcoo felt his best available option was to enroll in Grossmont Community College.

After one year at defensive back and a second season at receiver, Barcoo was recruited to play corner at San Diego State — his hometown school. He spent one season as a backup as he refined his focus on the position, and after the first true offseason and training camp of his career, he blossomed into the NCAA leader with nine interceptions as a senior.

He anticipated his success would earn him a draft slot, and when the Jaguars gave him his chance as a free agent, he said he “wasn’t in the right head space,”

feeling he deserved more than the snaps he was given.

“Being undrafted, I feel like you’re on a short leash,” Barcoo said. “Where I messed up is I got an opportunity, and I took advantage of my opportunity, but once I was put in a certain position, I got complacent and forgot what it’s like to be hungry.”

Having secured a spot on an NFL roster, Barcoo said he began hearing from friends and family — even some he hadn’t been in contact with since his youth — asking him for money or favors.

Barcoo said he found it “hard to say no,” feeling guilty whenever he was approached by people he remembered growing up poor, even if his own bank account was far from limitless.

“Everyone coming at me, asking me for money, asking me for this and that like I’m a first-round draft pick, and I’m not that,” Barcoo said. “It was hard on me, managing trying to please everyone.

That kind of tore me down a little bit. That’s one of the off-the-field things I dealt with that held me back.”

Barcoo was released from the Jaguars in August 2021, and through the next 12 months he was signed and released by four other teams. While being cut initially brought him to tears, he later learned to trust in his faith, that he’ll land where he’s meant to be.

He also found many of those who tried to leech off his success were less interested in his darker moments.

“When I was down, I went from the top of the world to being cut four or five times,” Barcoo said. “You go from everybody contacting you, everybody worrying about what you’re doing and this and that. But when you have a problem and you need some help, you’re lonely and have nobody to call.”

Getting to know Barcoo in San Antonio, the 14year NFL veteran Ward has talked to him about “the people growing up in my life that I thought were friends” and the need to sometimes “disassociate” from them to help maintain success.

“My message to Barcoo was, ‘When you make it, that doesn’t mean everybody in your family makes it, too,’” Ward said.

On the field, Barcoo has left Ward with no doubt about his ability to play at the highest level, showing continued growth with starting snaps at a position he’s in some ways still learning.

Quarterback Jack Coan has worked against Barcoo since the start of training camp, describing him as an “unbelievable player” with the technique and intelligence to read passers and receivers.

Ward said he’s been tempted to submit to Barcoo’s requests to try his hand back on offense, even if corner is his clear path to the NFL.

“I told him all season long, man, I don’t know why he’s in the XFL, because he’s talented enough,” Ward said. “He’s probably by far the best cornerback in the league. I feel totally comfortable leaving Barcoo out there with any receiver.”

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