Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/83107
Where Have You Gone? Reggie Barnett, 1972-74 Cornerback Three-year starter also became a Rhodes Scholar By Lou Somogyi A look at Notre Dame’s 2012 football roster reveals only one player from the state of Michigan — kicker/punter Kyle Brindza. It’s a far cry from the late 1960s and early 1970s when a dozen or so players from the Wolverine state often dotted the Irish lineup, especially on defense. Head coach Ara Parseghian’s defensive backs instructor Paul Shoults had Michigan as his territory, and he recruited All-Americans along the line in tackles Mike Kadish (Grand Rapids) and Greg Marx (Redford), plus linebackers Greg Collins (Troy) and Drew Mahalic (Birmingham). Shoults also lined his own unit with several top-flight cornerbacks, including All-American and first-round pick Clarence Ellis (Grand Rapids), Ralph Stepaniak (Alpena) — who tied Ellis with 13 career interceptions — and finally Reggie Barnett, from Flint Central. “Paul Shoults, bless his soul,” recalled Barnett of his recruiter and position coach who passed away in 2011. “Probably the most interesting recruiter I’ve ever seen. He would overwhelm you by underwhelming you. He never promised you anything, but always showed you a lot of respect.” Shoults signed Barnett in 1971 to be the replacement for Ellis, who was entering his senior year that season. With few exceptions, the Parseghian dicta included positioning the fastest athletes on defense. The 5-11, 180-pound Barnett was timed at 9.8 seconds in the 100-yard dash, and powerhouses such as Oklahoma and Nebraska, which featured game-breakers such as Greg Pruitt and 1972 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers, were interested in him to line up on offense. Barnett had other ideas. “I actually wanted to play defense because I felt that that was the place for me,” Barnett said. “At running back I was nicked up every year in high school, so I did not miss that part of it.” Originally, his top choice was Michigan State, but he realized head coach Duffy Daugherty (1954-72) would be stepping down in the next year or two and he didn’t want to go through a transition. As for in-state power Michigan … “Michigan always talked about winning the Big Ten championship,” Barnett recalled. “Notre Dame was talking about winning the national championship … I guess I made the right decision.” Trek To A Title Barnett was born in the same county of Arkansas (Cleveland) as former Alabama head coach and multiple national champion Paul “Bear” Bryant, but his parents, Oscar and Dora, moved with their eight children to Flint. Neither had a college education and were “common laborers,” according to Barnett. Oscar worked at the General Motors plant in Flint, while Dora kept various jobs to help with the finances. Both imparted a powerful will in their offspring to excel academically, and all eight attended college. “My father lost his parents at a young age, but he put two of his brothers through college,” Barnett said. “So his thing was if he could put his brothers through college, he felt he should put us through college also. This was what was expected of us.” Barnett’s freshman year in 1971 was the last where the NCAA didn’t permit freshman eligibility, and that made the transition to Notre Dame — even though it had a record level of minority enrollment that year — a little more difficult without looking forward to games to play in on Saturday. “I was the seventh of eight kids, so I was used to being around a lot of people, but I was not used to not having my parents,” Barnett said. “It was very difficult just being away from home, learning a lot of new and different things, being from the inner city. But all in all, it’s a best part of life for you, discovering who you are and discovering a lot of things about yourself.” By his sophomore year in 1972, Barnett immediately stepped in to replace Ellis at one corner spot, logging 274 minutes of action. Junior Mike Townsend occupied the other corner slot, and his 10 interceptions that year led the nation (and is still a single-season school record). Although the Irish made it to the Orange Bowl in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, the season ended with a 45-23 loss at No. 1 USC and a 40-6 demolition versus Nebraska for an 8-3 finish — the only time in Parseghian’s 11 seasons the Irish lost more than two games. The 1972 team was rebuilding because Barnett’s class in 1971 was one of the best ever signed by the school, one that would be the centerpiece of the drive to the 1973 national title in their junior year. A dozen members of the class would be full-time starters on that 1973 team, led by quarterback Tom Clements and fullback Wayne “The Train” Bullock on offense, and tackle Mike Fanning and Collins on defense. “I’d like to say it was a surprise, but it wasn’t,” said Barnett of the championship drive. “We had some great players in our class, but there were just a few holes the previous year. Then when we signed Ross Browner, Willie Fry, Luther Bradley in 1973 — the holes we had, those guys filled it. We had more speed everywhere, and I thought we would be able to compete with anyone.” The Irish ended both a six-year drought against USC and the Trojans’ 23-game winning streak with a 23-14 victory. Barnett was so stoked for the game that he was ejected in the third quarter for throwing a punch at USC wide receiver J.K. McKay. “Immaturity,” Barnett said. “I was rightfully ejected.” Then in the epic 24-23 victory over No. 1 Alabama for the national title, Barnett recorded an interception. It wouldn’t be his last against an 11-0 Crimson Tide team. Scholar-Athlete While Barnett was achieving at a high level athletically, his work in the classroom as an economics major was even more impressive. A 12-hour workload of class credits is considered normal for the average student-athlete, but one semester Barnett loaded up with 21 — and missed a master’s degree just by a few hours to go with his undergraduate one after four years. “My take always was, if I can be a good athlete, why can’t I be a good student?” Barnett said. “If you’re competitive on the football field, why can’t you be in the classroom? It always seemed unnatural to me to be competitive in only one arena.” Prior to his senior season, Barnett worked that summer in Washington, D.C., for the Department of the Interior. He was excited about the prospect of repeating as a national champion — until the news came out that summer that Browner, Fry, Bradley, running back Al Hunter, among others, were suspended and expelled for the season for breaking school rules. “I think the greatest team we had at Notre Dame during my time there never hit the field,” Barnett said of 1974. “I felt bad because part of me thought if I had been on campus that summer for school and not in Washington maybe I could have stopped some of this nonsense from happening.” In the third week, the Irish were stunned at home by heavy underdog Purdue (31-20). The Irish slipped by Michigan State (19-14), Rice (10-3), Navy (14-6) and Pitt (14-10), and everyone was asking: “What’s wrong?” “That season took a toll on everyone for a lot of reasons,” Barnett said. “Everyone you met when you ate breakfast or lunch knew more about football than you did because they played high school football. So we had to listen to a lot of that.” The 9-1 Irish were still in the national title hunt heading into the finale at USC, and were already matched up with 11-0 Alabama in the Orange Bowl. After taking a 24-0 lead at USC, though, the Irish had one of the great collapses in the program’s history during a 55-24 defeat, yielding all the points in a span of 17 minutes. Parseghian resigned a couple of weeks later, and the Irish sent him out with a 13-11 victory that was sealed by Barnett’s final play at Notre Dame. Alabama drove to Notre Dame’s 38 and was getting in range for the game-winning field goal. But when quarterback Richard Todd zeroed in on receiver Ozzie Newsome on an underneath route, Barnett intercepted the pass at the 34 with 1:21 left. Along with split end Pete Demmerle, Barnett earned Academic All-America honors and a Rhodes Scholarship. “I didn’t go to Notre Dame saying, ‘Let’s try to get a Rhodes Scholarship.’ Just try to be the best football player I can be, the best I can be in the classroom, and try to get the most out of the experience,” Barnett said. Mission achieved. After Football Instead of pursuing a Rhodes Scholarship, Barnett enrolled in graduate studies at Duke University, where he received both an MBA and a law degree. Not drafted until the 345th pick (14th round) in the 1975 NFL Draft, he was ready to move on to the next phase of his life after being cut by the San Diego Chargers that summer. “My interest level of being a long-term pro athlete wasn’t there,” Barnett explained. “I didn’t miss the game at all. And when you don’t miss the game, that means your interest has changed. You can only perform as high as you’re committed. I enjoyed going to Duke, and that’s what I was committed to.” After a lucrative career with IBM as an International Marketing manager, Barnett has spent the past decade running his own business in Information Technology, specializing in wireless networks with international technologies while residing in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Married for 26 years to wife Bernadell, Barnett has two daughters, Melissa (a graduate student at St. Louis University) and Meredith (a sophomore at Hampton University). Now embarking on his sixth decade of life, Barnett — still referred to as “Old School” by his daughters — sees his next objective to serve in mentorship programs for youngsters who need direction. “I’m ready to move to my third phase in life,” Barnett said. “I may be retiring from some business, but I don’t believe in retirement. I like to think I’m turning the page and going on to a third chapter where I move from business and am going to a more social return to community.” Barnett remains a gentleman and scholar … with a pretty darn good football résumé.