FIU’s first NFL draftee returns to school, earns college degree at age 39

Former FIU linebacker Antwan Barnes is a college graduate -- finally.

It happened last month -- a dozen years after he played the best game of his NFL career, sacking Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco four times.

It happened exactly two decades after he got his high school diploma from Miami’s Norland High, where he helped lead the Vikings to their first state title.

And it happened a full nine years after he was cut by the New York Jets, effectively ending his football career.

Barnes wore his cap and gown at FIU on Dec. 11.

“It was a proud moment for me,” Barnes said.

Julie Berg, FIU’s senior associate athletic director, said she is “beyond proud” of Barnes.

“Antwan has come from a hard place and a tough life,” said Berg, who has mentored Barnes since his days at FIU from 2003 to 2007. “For Antwan to come back and finish – that’s why I do what I do, for moments like this.”

Barnes, who has three brothers and one sister, grew up in various homes in Miami’s inner city, at times living with his mother and then his grandmother and aunt and finally, in high school, with the families of two of his teammates.

He didn’t have a lot of great role models.

“Some of my brothers fell by the wayside,” Barnes said, “one in particular.”

Barnes nearly became a high school dropout. He was a terrific player, but the college-scholarship offers he had were getting rescinded because of his poor grades.

Before his senior year of high school, Barnes never even thought about his future beyond the day he was living. But when he realized he was close to blowing his chance of playing college football, Barnes went to night school to pull up his grade-point average.

Perhaps due to his poor academics, Barnes was not chosen for the 2006 Dade-Broward All-Star Game. Angered by the snub, Barnes showed up to the game anyway, and that’s where he met former Miami safety Hurlie Brown, who helped the Hurricanes win two national championships.

When they met, Brown was an assistant coach at FIU, and he was able to convince Barnes to come play for the Panthers.

“He told me,” Barnes said of Brown, “that if I played well at FIU, the NFL would find me.”

Brown said Barnes was a “phenomenal” talent.

“Antwan was extremely fast and strong, and he had a low center of gravity,” Brown said. “I watched him and thought, ‘How is he not one of the best players in Miami?’

“He had some interest from LSU, Florida State and Miami, and maybe they thought he wasn’t big enough at that time.”

Brown said Barnes lacked a “father figure” at home. Brown soon filled that void.

“I fell in love with the kid, and now, 20 years later, he is still like a son to me,” Brown said.

“In the recruiting process, it became personal to me. I knew that other schools weren’t going to nurture him like I did. I knew I could help him grow as a player and as a person, and to see him get his degree is the icing on the cake.

“He’s now done everything I knew he could do.”

Barnes, a first-team All-State player at Norland, stuck with his FIU commitment even though he got a scholarship offer from Michigan State just a few hours before he signed with the Panthers.

FIU had four straight losing seasons during Barnes’ days there, including an 0-12 record in 2006, a year that featured a seven-overtime, 25-22 loss at North Texas.

Despite the losses, Barnes performed well. He started all 12 of FIU’s games as a true freshman, and he went on to become a two-time, first-team All-Sun Belt performer under Panthers coach Don Strock, the ex-Dolphins quarterback.

Barnes, who is still FIU’s career leader in sacks with 21½., then became the first draft pick in program history, getting selected in the fourth round by the Baltimore Ravens in 2007.

In an eight-year NFL career, Barnes – who also played for the Eagles, Chargers and Jets – finished with 121 tackles, 25½ sacks, five forced fumbles, two recoveries and one interception. He also had a two-sack game against Tom Brady while playing for the Chargers in 2010.

When Barnes retired after getting cut by the Jets in December of 2014, he and former Norland and FIU linebacker and teammate Alexander Bostic III started their own company, Watchman Security.

Bostic and Barnes have been friends for decades. In fact, Bostic’s parents allowed Barnes to live with them during his struggles to find a suitable home in high school.

Meanwhile, Barnes’ aunt, Rochelle Barnes, kept on him about finishing his degree. But Aunt Rochelle was just one of several people in Barnes’ life who motivated him to get the 23 credits he needed to earn his Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies.

Barnes, who now lives in Atlanta, also wanted to set an example for his four children, from ages one to 14.

“I didn’t want to be one of those dads who preaches the importance of school when I didn’t finish,” Barnes said. “My seven-year-old (Rylin), would joke, ‘Daddy, you’re in school?’ She couldn’t believe that adults can go back to school.”

Another motivating factor for Barnes was his late grandmother, Addie Arrington, who earned her Bachelor’s degree from Florida Memorial University in 1996.

“I remember going to her graduation, and that stuck in my head,” Barnes said. “I also wanted to graduate before I turned 40.”

Barnes, now 39, started his newfound academic journey in the spring of 2022, taking online classes.

“At first, oh my God, it was so hard,” Barnes said. “I hadn’t been in that (academic) environment in 15 years. I had to take it slow, starting with one or two classes.”

Barnes said he even failed one class, but he took it again and passed.

Finally, when he had aced his last test, he shared his joy with his wife, Cameren Barnes, who played a large role in his graduation, making sure he “stayed on point.”

Barnes also called Berg, who invited him to speak at FIU’s athlete luncheon.

“I learned that no matter how far you think a goal is, it is reachable if you put your mind to it,” Barnes said. “Procrastinating like I did doesn’t necessarily mean you are wasting time. It maybe that you just weren’t ready.

“But once I started, I was focused.”

The best thing about graduating, Barnes said, was making his children proud.

“I know that everything I do in this world is watched by my kids,” Barnes said. “I have to set the right example for them.”