Barnes finds fit with Love, Packers
Krys Barnes had a feeling Jordan Love might be busy the night of the first round of the NFL draft, so he reached out to give his childhood best friend some love and respect for what they both knew would be a life-changing moment.
“Hopefully we meet each other at the top,” Barnes told Love. “And hopefully we get a chance to play against each other.”
About 72 hours later, the two were talking again after Barnes had agreed to head to the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent. After four years, the two nearly lifelong friends from Bakersfield, California, and former teammates at Liberty High School would be starting their journey to the top together.
“It was nothing but, ‘Man, this is crazy,' ” Barnes said of that conversation. “Who would have thought that we would be back on the same team again? It seems like that's rare that that even happens, so for it to happen, to come from the same town, it's amazing to be a part of. And especially being best friends since we were little, to have each other in the same spot and both competing to be professional athletes is an amazing accomplishment.”
It was such a unique dovetail for the pair in that it was Barnes, who was the high-profile high school star, collecting nearly two dozen scholarship offers from the Power Five college conferences. He was the No. 9 rated inside linebacker in the country, a four-star recruit who eventually went to UCLA.
Love, meanwhile, had to scrap for one Football Bowl Subdivision offer at Utah State.
“He played inside, outside linebacker for us. Played some tight end. Was a defensive captain for us. Three-year starter on varsity,” Liberty coach Bryan Nixon said of Barnes. “Just a total different path.”
Barnes played straight away for the Bruins, beginning on special teams as a true freshman in 2016, and started eight times as a sophomore. He started all 12 games in 2018 and all 11 he played in last year. Listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 229 pounds, Barnes finished his career with 212 tackles (139 solo) with 21 tackles for
loss and five sacks. He also broke up 15 passes and had two interceptions.
Yet he knew coming out of school that, at best, he may be drafted in the sixth round — but he was mentally prepared to be undrafted.
“If I was going to hear my name called it would have been a big blessing,” he said. “It hurt a little bit because you picture that growing up. You want to see it. But for it not to happen, it didn’t crush me. For me I’m glad to have an opportunity to be somewhere, let alone to be a Packer. I’m grateful for it.”
Like many who were not invited to the NFL scouting combine, Barnes put in months of training for his pro day, only to see it canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. So, he essentially stitched together a mix tape of his workouts to send teams a “virtual pro day.”
He had some of his training sessions filmed, including a 40-yard dash time of 4.62 seconds recorded three weeks before he was supposed to run it. He then went over to
Love’s house to do the bench press, which he put up 25 times. He went to a park near his parents’ house to be filmed doing position drills.
“It came out pretty good and my agent was able to send out to teams,” Barnes said. “It’s like what they call a virtual pro day. It worked, but it wasn’t ideal or what I kind of wished would happen.”
Like many teams, the Packers began calling Barnes on a regular basis as the draft approached, and he spoke to assistant coach Kirk Olivadotti and some scouts. So, Barnes and his agent put together a spreadsheet of the Zoom interviews he had been on and made their list of teams they’d like to go to if he did go undrafted. The Packers rose quickly to the top of the list, both for their interest and for what Barnes feels is a real opportunity to make the team. He was also able to do his own homework on teams, saying he took advantage of the free access to NFL Game Pass to watch the Packers’ defensive system.
“For me I think it was given the ability, the opportunity to find my way on the active roster,” Barnes said. “I’m hearing that a lot how they like the way I play, they like my style of play, they were very interested in me.
“I’m definitely willing to do whatever it takes to fight for a spot, whether it be special teams, whether it be on the actual Mike or Will, wherever they see fits best. I want to try to contribute any way possible. So I feel like Green Bay gave me the best opportunity.”
Barnes knows his early 40 time may not impress, but he feels he has proven he can run and cover and that he comes in with a high football IQ and ability to digest the playbook. Once on the field, he acknowledged he can improve on getting off blocks and rushing the passer.
As the two friends are reunited as teammates and begin their professional journey together in Green Bay, Barnes knows his future is in his hands.
“There’s so much more I can learn,” Barnes said. “The sky’s the limit. That’s why I’m also excited to be where I’m at because I can learn so much from these group of guys and be able to develop my game that much more.”
Contact Jim Owczarski at jowczarski@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat at @JimOwczarski or Facebook at facebook.com/JOwczarski.