Chris Barnes Continues Building Hype with Dominant Showing in Spring Game

STILLWATER — When Chris Barnes arrived in Stillwater this offseason as the team’s second-lightest, second-shortest scholarship receiver on the roster, few knew exactly what they were getting.

Head coach Eric Morris didn’t expect Barnes to dominate outside. Neither did quarterback Drew Mestemaker.

To be fair to them, Barnes didn’t dominate during Saturday’s scrimmage. He quite literally ran away with the whole thing to the tune of 141 yards and a touchdown on four receptions.

“I mean, that speed,” Morris said. “Everybody saw it running down the sideline and backed up, and a great read by Drew putting it on the money. … I just got to find a way to get the ball in those guys’ hands in space.”

Morris was describing Barnes’ 97-yard touchdown, and the other player he referenced was receiver Miles Coleman, who finished with a respectable, but ultimately distant second, total of 57 yards from scrimmage.

To be fair to both the Cowboys’ head coach and starting quarterback, Barnes hasn’t been known as an outside threat throughout his college career.

He played 66% of his snaps in college at the slot. Even Barnes was surprised when Cowboy coaches moved him outside this spring.

“(But) I’m not going to back down from it just because I’m a smaller receiver,” Barnes said. “But like I said, I got the skill sets to go out there and do what I gotta do.”

Mestemaker said it didn’t take long for Barnes to cement his place.

“Coming into the year, I thought he’d be playing slot receiver, and it was like first or second day he made some crazy catches on the outside,” Mestemaker said. “And I was like, this guy can play the outside and make plays out there. So I think he can play anywhere.”

Barnes is a tougher critic when asked how his spring started with OSU’s new QB1.

“During the spring, we started off, kinda not rough, but like we had to get used to each other,” Barnes said. “He had to get used to my speed sometimes. Sometimes I had to get used to his arm, like I said today, we just connected.”

What Barnes showed on Saturday has been happening behind closed doors against some of OSU’s top defenders this spring.

“I feel like I’ve developed the techniques to win versus press,” Barnes said. “When I was at slot, man (would be) playing about 10 yards off me, you basically getting free release every time.”

The receiver said the hardest part about making the adjustments has been winning the one-on-ones.

“It’s not really a secret. … It all starts with the pre-snap,” Barnes said. “Like you got to get a read of the defense and know, like, okay, I need to do this. Like you have to develop a plan.”

That plan starts with identifying how the corner is matching up on him and if they are pressing. Are the safeties in two-high or one? Which defender has the flat?

Once Barnes answers all those questions, the play tends to result in what roughly 13,000 Oklahoma State fans saw firsthand on Saturday.

For those who didn’t make the trip out this time, Morris promises Barnes will have plenty of highlight-worthy moments inside Boone Pickens this fall.

“He’ll be a guy we start moving around when we start game planning for people,” Morris said. “He’s been a little better on the outside with his stature than I thought and has really tracked the ball well on the deep stuff.”