Anthony Barr (American football)
No. 55 – Minnesota Vikings | |||||||||||||||
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Position: | Outside Linebacker | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
Born: | South Bend, Indiana | March 18, 1992||||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||||||||
Weight: | 255 lb (116 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
College: | UCLA | ||||||||||||||
NFL draft: | 2014 / Round: 1 / Pick: 9 | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of 2014 | |||||||||||||||
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Anthony Barr (born March 18, 1992) is an American football outside linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Vikings ninth overall in the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at UCLA, where he was a consensus All-American in 2013.
High school career
Raised in Los Angeles, Barr attended Loyola High School in the Pico-Union neighborhood, where he was a letterman in football and track. He was an All-State selection at running back for the Loyola Cubs football team after rushing for 1,890 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior.[1] He then, however, missed virtually all of his senior season after breaking his ankle in September. He was also unable to participate in the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, to which he was invited.[2]
Barr also lettered four seasons in track & field. He competed in events ranging from the 100-meters to the pole vault. At the 2009 CIF Southern Meet, he earned eleventh-place finishes in both the 100 meter (11.05 s) and the 200 meter (22.40 s) dashes.[3] He took silver in the 200-meter dash event at the 2009 Mission League Championships, recording a personal-best time of 21.86 seconds.[4] Also a top performer in the pole vault, he captured a state title at the 2010 California Relays, after clearing 4.80 meters (15 ft 7 in).[5]
Recruiting
Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Barr was listed as the No. 8 prospect and the No. 5 athlete out of the state of California.[6] According to Scout.com, he was ranked as the No. 100 national prospect and the No. 10 outside linebacker. He was also rated as the No. 1 athlete by MaxPreps. With scholarship offers from dozens of schools, Barr narrowed his decision down to Notre Dame and UCLA, before choosing the Bruins on January 21, 2010
College career
Barr was an offensive player his first two years at UCLA playing running back, wide receiver and tight end. Prior to his junior season in 2012, he switched to linebacker.[7] During his first year as a linebacker he led the nation in sacks with 13.5.[8] He was named a first team All-Pac-12 selection.[9][10] He was named to the CBSSports.com College Football All-America second team. At the team's annual awards banquet, Barr was named the defense most valuable player (Henry R. "Red" Sanders Award).[11] Despite being touted as a potential first round draft choice in the 2013 NFL Draft, Barr decided to return to UCLA for his senior season.[12]
In a November 2012 game vs. the USC Trojans, Barr sacked quarterback Matt Barkley, who suffered a season ending shoulder injury.[13]
Barr was named Pac-12 defensive player of the week after the 2nd game of the season for the Bruins, a 41–21 win over Nebraska on September 14, 2013. He was also the Walter Camp Football Foundation player of the week on defense.
For the 2013 regular season, Barr had 62 tackles, 20 for a loss (ranked 9th) and has forced five fumbles (fifth best) and recovered four (second in the nation).[14] He led the team with 10 sacks for 66 sack yards and was rewarded with the Lott IMPACT Award. Barr is in sixth place on the all-time school list for tackles for loss (41.5) and is tied for sixth on the school's all-time list for sacks (23.5).
Professional career
2014 NFL Draft
Barr was considered one of the top linebacker prospects for the 2014 NFL Draft.[15][16] After the college season concluded, he was projected the No. 3 selection in the 2014 NFL Draft by Sports Illustrated.[16] Barr was eventually selected ninth overall by the Minnesota Vikings,[17] making him the highest selected defensive player out of UCLA since Eric Turner, second overall in 1991. He also surpassed Jamir Miller, who was chosen tenth overall in 1994, as the highest Bruins linebacker ever selected.
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 4+3⁄4 in (1.95 m) |
255 lb (116 kg) |
33+1⁄2 | 9+3⁄8 | 4.41 s | 1.57 s | 2.67 s | 4.19 s | 6.82 s | 34.5 in (0.88 m) |
10 ft 5 in (3.18 m) |
19 reps | |
40 time from UCLA Pro Day[18] |
Minnesota Vikings
Barr signed a four-year $12.7 million contract with the Vikings. He will receive a $7.6 million signing bonus and the team can exercise a fifth-year option.[19] Barr started every game for the Vikings in 2014 and was awarded NFC defensive player of the week for week 8. Barr started most of the season but it was cut short due to a injury and was put on injured reserved. He ended is rookie season with 70 combined tackles, 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries (one returned for a touchdown) and 3 pass deflections. He was a top contender for defensive rookie of the year.
Personal
Barr's father, Tony Brooks, and uncles, Reggie Brooks and Cedric Figaro all played in the NFL.[20] All of them also played at Notre Dame. Shortly after his birth in South Bend Barr and his mother moved to the suburbs of Los Angeles where he was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents.
References
- ^ "UCLA junior Anthony Barr enjoying success after making switch this season to linebacker - and quickly turns into a hot NFL prospect". Los Angeles Daily News. December 24, 2012.
- ^ http://www.uclabruins.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30500&ATCLID=207914091
- ^ http://ca.milesplit.com/meets/54279/results/92626
- ^ http://parser.dyestat.com/search.jsp?meetID=31703
- ^ http://ca.milesplit.com/meets/63234/results/115133
- ^ http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/rankings/rank-2489
- ^ Anthony Barr figures out which side he wants to be on
- ^ NCAA Division I-A Player Defense Statistics - 2012
- ^ Three Bruins named first-team All Pac-12
- ^ Pac-12 football awards and all-conference team announced
- ^ 2012 Team Awards Announced at Football Awards Banquet, UCLABruins.com, December 3, 2012
- ^ "Potential first-round LB Anthony Barr will return to UCLA Bruins". ESPN.com. December 31, 2012.
- ^ "Matt Barkley suffered shoulder sprain, will miss Notre Dame game". Los Angeles Times. November 19, 2012.
- ^ "Linebacker Anthony Barr selected a Camp All-American". Los Angeles Times. December 12, 2013.
- ^ NFL Draft Scout
- ^ a b "2014 NFL Mock Draft 3.0". Sports Illustrated. December 3, 2013.
- ^ Minnesota Vikings trade down to No. 9, select Anthony Barr in 2014 NFL draft
- ^ http://blogs.nfl.com/2014/03/14/anthony-barr-runs-4-41-and-4-49-40s-at-uclas-pro-day/
- ^ Chris Tomasson (May 20, 2014). "Vikings' Teddy Bridgewater, Anthony Barr sign rookie deals". www.twincities.com. St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
- ^ "It's Westwood, not South Bend, for Anthony Barr, UCLA's new 'F-back'". Los Angeles Times. September 2, 2010.
External links
- 1992 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Los Angeles, California
- Sportspeople from South Bend, Indiana
- Players of American football from Indiana
- Players of American football from California
- All-American college football players
- American football linebackers
- UCLA Bruins football players
- Minnesota Vikings players