May 12, 2022
After not playing his entire junior year due to a leg injury, Ben Barney’s football future beyond high school was in serious jeopardy. With no chance to showcase his talent for colleges, Barney knew his senior season was going to have to be one for the ages.
“I couldn’t really do anything, because I didn’t have anything to show. My senior year, it was like, ‘This is it. I have one shot to show everybody that I can do what I can do,’” Barney says.
Barney delivered in a major way, averaging 40.1 yards per punt, as well as making a whopping 29 of his 31 extra points while making four of six field goals on the season. That was more than enough to get him a strong interest from Case Western.
Similar to all current college-bound athletes, the 2021 “COVID season” made it much harder for high school players to get looks from schools. Combined with the fact that Barney was injured, schools did not have a single piece of film from him.
“I went to a lot of camps over the summer and played in front of a list of coaches, because they didn’t have any film of me playing. So it was hard for anyone to really make a move and say that they want me. When I went down to Case Western and was in Cleveland, it really seemed like Chicago, which just felt right. They really liked how I did that day, and I was clicking down there with them, so they continued that pursuit through my senior year,” Barney explained.
“They had me send over transcripts, ACT scores, etc. Once they took a look at those, they were like, ‘Alright keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll get in.’”
Barney loved the academic and athletic fit of Case Western, and he will be majoring in accounting when he starts there in the fall.
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