Notes: Played, lettered and even started one game as a true freshman in 1993, when he completed 10-of-33 passes for 125 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions. Started three times in '94, completing 65-97-738-3-4. Had his best game vs. Washington, hitting on 33-44-389. Started in '95 and '96. Completed 197-362-2,685-17-11 in '95. Played in new 49er head coach Steve Mariucci's version of the West Coast offense and set a new Pacific-10 record for touchdown passes in a season in '96, taking advantage of the new overtime rule to help him set the record. Wound up the regular season with a 31-8 TD-interception ratio while completing 250-of-420 passes for 3,499 yards, although his longest completion covered only 44 yards. Threw four touchdown passes in overtime. Was Cal's MVP in '96, led the Pac-10 in passing efficiency and was a second-team All-Conference pick behind Jake Plummer. Injured throwing hand at the East-West Shrine game practices, altered motion and did not impress during the Shrine practices and during Senior Bowl practices, but he did throw three touchdown passes (completed 4-of-10 pass attempts) in the first half of the Senior Bowl. It turned out that Barnes had broken a bone in his right forearm/wrist in the Shrine game and won Senior Bowl MVP honors with a broken throwing wrist. He had surgery on his right forearm/wrist in February and may not be able to throw until April.

Positives: Excellent size and stature. Adequate arm. Can be almost unstoppable when he gets on a roll. Was extremely well-coached by Mariucci in '96 and made major strides from a technique, touch, lay-off and understanding standpoint. Learned to read the field and to use all of his receivers in '96. Is now schooled in the West Coast offense that almost half the teams in the NFL are using some parts of. Has adequate mobility for a bigger quarterback. Showed a little scramble and good pocket-avoid ability as a senior. Can get out of trouble at times and can unload quickly when he has to.

Negatives: Still tends to be a little erratic and streaky. Misses some open receivers and throws too many passes behind his receivers. Will wind up at times. Is not as aggressive and confident in his ability as you would like. Leadership and intangibles are OK but not special at this time. Came up short in key situations too often in the past and, according to some, seemed to almost be pointing fingers when Cal was losing 6-of-7 games at the end of the '96 season.

Summary: Really could have used another year at Cal to further upgrade his skills and to show that he could handle the heat, but he showed marked improvement with Mariucci coaching him.

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