Barnes finding his way, blessed to have vets to lead him on Clemson defense

Khalil Barnes got in on the action with Andrew Mukuba out for Saturday's game.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Tue Sep 12 18:15:07 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON - With 117 players that went into the game at some point against Charleston Southern, true freshman safety Khalil Barnes had a chance to get some action. Barnes recorded his first-ever tackle in a college football game against the Buccaneers, which should be the first of many.

Barnes did not initially commit to Clemson when he was narrowing down his schools. Coming out of North Oconee High School (Ga.), Barnes was recruited both as a wide receiver and defensive back. He received 22 offers and visited four of those schools - including Wake Forest. He originally committed to the Demon Deacons before narrowing his options down to the Tigers, Notre Dame and Oklahoma. Some schools wanted him at receiver, while Clemson wanted Barnes to play defensive back.

Ultimately, he chose Clemson in part because of the strong connection he developed with other freshmen, such as defensive tackle Peter Woods. As Barnes describes, Woods has many talents on and off the football field.

“(Woods) came out for spring practice and looked like he had been here for years. So, I ain’t never seen something like that. I’m happy he’s on my team and not on anybody else’s team,” Barnes said. “Peter is a man of many talents. If he wasn’t in football, (he) could be … on American Idol or something for singing, for real … Peter can sing.”

One thing that truly benefits rookies like Barnes and Woods is having veterans lead them and keep them at their respective positions. For Barnes, one standout in the leadership role has been junior Andrew Mukuba.

“We have a lot of vets. We have (Mukuba). He’s been starting since his freshman year, so, learning from him and kind of taking the back door to that. That’s been a real blessing. That’s something I really appreciate him for,” Barnes said. “Mukuba, he really helped me with preparation, like, we spent a lot of time talking, and we were in the film room. He was right beside me, kind of just telling me things to look for (and) things that he looks for on film. So, it was a blessing for sure.”

Mukuba was unable to play in the Charleston Southern game due to injury, but the starting lineup did not even stay in the whole game anyway because of the dominant third-quarter performance by the Clemson offense, where they put up 28 points and did not turn the ball over, greatly helping the Tiger defense. This allowed other freshmen, like redshirt tight end Josh Sapp, to get some playing time. Sapp made his one reception count, scoring a 25-yard touchdown.

“I think that shows on the field, how tight our bond is and even, like, we got when I got here for the bowl game in Miami, I was here for … a week, week and a half … Even the locker room, the older guys, they welcomed us in like family,” Barnes said. “So, when you see guys like Sapp score, and you see the whole sideline go crazy … it’s because we’re, like, family and us, being that tight, we all want to see each other succeed.”

Barnes and the rest of the freshmen should get another opportunity to make some plays and get some experience in Clemson’s upcoming game against Florida Atlantic for family weekend this Saturday (8 p.m./ACC Network). Both teams are coming into the game with a 1-1 record.