Anthony Barr (American football)

Anthony Barr (born March 18, 1992) is an American football outside linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UCLA, where he was a consensus All-American in 2013. He was drafted by the Vikings in the first round, 9th overall of the 2014 NFL Draft.

Raised in Los Angeles, Barr attended Loyola High School in the Pico-Union neighborhood, where he was a letterman in football and track. He was an All-State selection at running back for the Loyola Cubs football team after rushing for 1,890 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior. He then, however, missed virtually all of his senior season after breaking his ankle in September. He was also unable to participate in the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, to which he was invited.

Barr also lettered four seasons in track & field. At the 2009 CIF Southern Meet, he earned eleventh-place finishes in both the 100 meter (11.01 s) and the 200 meter (22.40 s) dashes. He took silver in the 200-meter dash at the 2009 Mission League Championships, recording a personal-best time of 21.86 seconds.

Recruiting

Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Barr was listed as the No. 8 prospect and the No. 5 athlete out of the state of California. According to Scout.com, he was ranked as the No. 100 national prospect and the No. 10 outside linebacker. He was also rated as the No. 1 athlete by MaxPreps. With scholarship offers from dozens of schools, Barr narrowed his decision down to Notre Dame and UCLA, before choosing the Bruins on January 21, 2010

Barr in 2011 at UCLA.

Barr was an offensive player his first two years at UCLA playing running back, wide receiver and tight end. Prior to his junior season in 2012, he switched to linebacker. During his first year as a linebacker, he exploded with 13.5 sacks, 21.5 tackles for loss and 83 tackles. His 13.5 sacks were the second highest total in the nation behind only Georgia’s Jarvis Jones. He was named a first team All-Pac-12 selection. He was named to the CBSSports.com College Football All-America second team. At the team's annual awards banquet, Barr was named the defense most valuable player (Henry R. "Red" Sanders Award). Despite being touted as a potential first round draft choice in the 2013 NFL Draft, Barr decided to return to UCLA for his senior season and followed up his previous season effort with 62 tackles, 10 sacks, 20 tackles for loss, five forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries in his last season with the Bruins.

In a November 2012 game vs. the USC Trojans, Barr sacked quarterback Matt Barkley, who suffered a season ending shoulder injury.

Barr was named Pac-12 defensive player of the week after the 2nd game of the season for the Bruins, a 41–21 win over Nebraska on September 14, 2013. He was also the Walter Camp Football Foundation player of the week on defense.

For the 2013 regular season, Barr had 62 tackles, 20 for a loss (ranked 9th) and has forced five fumbles (fifth best) and recovered four (second in the nation). He led the team with 10 sacks for 66 sack yards and was rewarded with the Lott IMPACT Award. Barr is in sixth place on the all-time school list for tackles for loss (41.5) and is tied for sixth on the school's all-time list for sacks (23.5).

Statistics

Pre-draft

Barr was considered one of the top linebacker prospects for the 2014 NFL Draft. After the college season concluded, he was projected as the No. 3 selection in the 2014 NFL Draft by Sports Illustrated.

At the 2014 NFL Combine, Barr ran the 40-yard dash in 4.66 seconds, sixth-best among linebackers, and tied for 14th in the vertical (34.5 inches). His 15 reps on the bench press were also dead last among those who participated, according to NFL.com's combine tracker. At the UCLA Pro Day on March 11, he ran an electronic 4.41 in the 40-yard dash, did 19 repetitions on the bench press and had a 10-foot-5 (3.20 meters) broad jump.

Barr was selected in the first round, ninth overall by the Minnesota Vikings, making him the highest selected defensive player out of UCLA since Eric Turner, second overall in 1991. He also surpassed Jamir Miller, who was chosen tenth overall in 1994, as the highest Bruins linebacker ever selected.

2014 season

Barr signed a four-year, $12.7 million contract with the Vikings. He will receive a $7.6 million signing bonus and the team can exercise a fifth-year option. Barr played in and started 12 games for the Vikings in 2014 and was awarded NFC defensive player of the week for week 8. Barr's 2014 season was cut short due to an injury and he was put on injured reserve. He ended his rookie season with 70 combined tackles, 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries (one returned for a touchdown) and 3 pass deflections. He was a top contender for defensive rookie of the year and one of three Viking defenders named to the PFF All-NFC North Team.

2015 season

Anthony Barr with the Vikings in 2015.

Barr was named as the NFL's number three "Making the Leap" player. The first game of the season marked Barr’s first appearance in the regular season since Nov 30 because of a knee injury that stopped short his promising rookie campaign. According to press box statistics, Barr played all 73 defensive snaps against the San Francisco 49ers and recorded a career-high 12 tackles. He was credited with 10 solo stops, which tied a career high, and made an impressive impact with Carlos Hyde for a loss of four yards in the fourth quarter. Barr surged through unblocked, making it three-plus yards behind the scrimmage as Hyde was taking the handoff from quarterback Colin Kaepernick. In Week 4 against the Denver Broncos, with Denver trying to build on a 13–3 lead late in the first half, Barr jumped in front of a short pass intended for wide receiver Andre Caldwell, recording the first interception of his career and returning it 32 yards to the Denver 27-yard line. Barr broke his left hand in Week 8 against the St. Louis Rams. In Week 12 at Atlanta, Barr became the first Viking to collect eight tackles, two forced fumbles, and a sack in the same game since Chris Doleman accomplished the feat in 1992. The first fumble came with the Vikings leading 7–0 in the first quarter, when rookie running back Tevin Coleman burst down the right sideline and cut across the grain to elude safety Antone Exum for what would have been a 46-yard gain, but then Barr chased Coleman down from behind and slapped the ball out of his right arm. In the fourth quarter, with the Falcons trailing 13–3, they went for a first down on fourth and 1 at their 48 with 4:39 left. Barr burst through the line unblocked and sacked quarterback Matt Ryan, causing him to fumble and sealing the game for the Vikings. Barr totaled 68 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 8 quarterback hurries, 1 interception, 7 passes defensed and 3 forced fumbles in his second season, playing a key role on a Vikings' defense that ranked 5th in the NFL and allowed 18.9 points per game. On January 25, 2016, Barr was named to his first Pro Bowl as an injury replacement for linebacker Jamie Collins, who was injured in the Patriots' loss in the conference title game.

2016 season

Despite a poor season in which coach Zimmer stated that Barr has a "tendency to coast," Barr was named to his second straight Pro Bowl to replace the Super Bowl-bound Vic Beasley.

Statistics

Barr's father, Tony Brooks, and uncles, Reggie Brooks and Cedric Figaro, all played in the NFL. All of them also played at Notre Dame. Shortly after his birth in South Bend, Barr and his mother moved to the suburbs of Los Angeles where he was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents.