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Jake Barnard to continue playing for Wisconsin River Falls

Posted 6/14/22

Jake Barnard signed his intent to play for the University of Wisconsin River Falls Falcons football team on Wednesday, May 11. Barnard signed a blank sheet of paper and does not have a scholarship …

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Jake Barnard to continue playing for Wisconsin River Falls

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Jake Barnard signed his intent to play for the University of Wisconsin River Falls Falcons football team on Wednesday, May 11. Barnard signed a blank sheet of paper and does not have a scholarship opportunity, as it is Division III, but he could not be more excited to continue his football career.

Barnard missed the last six games of the 2021-22 football season and the entire 21-22 basketball season due to a knee injury. He started on both offense and defense for the Fountain Hills High School football team in four games last season and in all five games of the shortened 2020-21 season. Despite missing so much playing time, Barnard still had two offers thanks to his early recruitment efforts.

“The end of my sophomore year, I started going to camps,” Barnard said. “That’s where I would meet a lot of college coaches in the area that were interested. After that I contacted them on Twitter, and then just went from there.”

Barnard said his first high school coach, Jason Henslin, was also helpful in providing some direction by asking what he wanted in a school. He added that even as a freshman, when he saw a senior continue to play in college, it inspired him to do the same.

Barnard toured UW River Falls’ campus in July of 2021 and liked their facilities and coaching staff. Barnard received another offer from Hastings College in Nebraska after a phone call later in August, and a month after, Barnard went down with an injury.

“It was hard, especially seeing all my guys out there and not being out there, in football and basketball,” Barnard said. “But I think it was honestly easier because it gave me something to work toward. Like working back so I can be there over the summer for those college workouts and be 100% healthy.”

According to Jimmy Curtis, the Falcons’ head coach this past season, Barnard is already back to squatting between 300-400 lbs. in the weight room. Barnard had been participating in spring workouts with all the other returning players, including his two younger brothers, rising junior Nate and rising sophomore Sam.

Barnard started playing flag football with the local Boys & Girls Club in first grade. He was coached by his father and eventually played with his younger brothers. Barnard’s family was present for the signing ceremony inside the Falcons Nest, and he enjoyed the celebration with them and the other athletes.

“It’s cool,” Barnard said. “Fountain Hills is definitely a small knit community, so everyone knows everyone and we can all come together to support each other.”

Barnard will play receiver for the Falcons in Wisconsin. As a junior, Barnard caught 16 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed the ball 11 times for 59 yards that season, averaging 5.4 yards per carry.

As a senior, Barnard had doubled his efficiency. He had 180 yards on eight catches, averaging 22.5 yards per catch. He caught one touchdown and also had one interception return for a touchdown.

Barnard was a ball hawk on defense. He had two interceptions and nine deflected passes on defense as a sophomore and was named an All-Region honorable mention in 2019-20.

Barnard followed that up by averaging one interception per game as a junior. He caught five interceptions and returned one of them for a touchdown. Barnard was recognized at the end of the 2020-21 season on the All-Region First team, and he was also named an All-Conference honorable mention.

Barnard is excited to move to River Falls, Wis., and meet his new teammates this summer. He said that he’s entering college intending to study economics, but added it is not set in stone and he’ll probably change majors.

Barnard said the signing ceremony helped everything feel real. He had a challenging final two years of high school, but Barnard overcame the odds and will pursue his dream as a collegiate football player.

“Every year the seniors would say ‘it goes by so fast,’ and I would never really believe them,” Barnard said. “But, I mean, it really does. You just blink a couple of times and it’s all over. I have a couple weeks left of high school. It kind of sucked with COVID and injuries but it was still a really awesome time.”