Redshirt freshman running back Kenjon Barner emerged this year as a threat in the back field and returning kicks. Last week in the Rose Bowl, the speedy returner had 227 all-purpose yards against the Buckeyes, and although he didn’t score a touchdown, Barner gave the Ducks good field position throughout the game with his runs. For the season, Barner finished with 1,157 return yards and a touchdown against UCLA. The Emerald caught up with him during last week’s Rose Bowl Media Day in Los Angeles.
Oregon Daily Emerald: You were a good basketball player in high school. If you weren’t playing football, would you be playing basketball?
Kenjon Barner: Probably. I wouldn’t doubt it. That’s something I love to do. I miss it a lot, so I probably would.
ODE: What drew you to Eugene?
KB: The people outside of the team. You know the team is going to be great, but I wanted to meet people on the outside and get a feel for what they’re like. It’s a lot different from being home. Everyone is real polite and there’s a lot of hospitality.
ODE: Who else recruited you?
KB: UTEP, West Virginia came on and UCLA came on towards the end too. But Oregon was the one.
ODE: What was your first wake-up moment on the field?
KB: Mainly when Walt (Thurmond III) went down against Cal. I was kind of like, “Oh no.” I was nervous — scared because I knew I was behind him on punt return and kickoff return. I was real scared. You never expect for something like that to happen. For it to happen, it was a wake-up call. I was forced to get ready and prepare different.
ODE: What was the biggest learning experience for you, seeing the punt come at you and know that guys are coming at you full speed?
KB: I listened to what Walter told me after he went down. He came to me on the sideline and told me to have blind faith. What that means is knowing when that ball is coming down, my guys will be there to block for me and not worrying about those guys coming to tackle me.
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