Bucky Barnes
 | This article has been cleared by an Approver on the wiki team. 37thchamber (talk) 08:02, 13 July 2018 (MDT) |
 | This article is pending review by an Approver on the wiki team. Do not award TPE yet. |
 | |||||||||||||||||
| No. 20 – Retired | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Safety | ||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
| Born: | March 10, 2001 (aged 60) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||
| High school: | Lincoln High School | ||||||||||||||||
| College: | Penn State University | ||||||||||||||||
| ISFL Draft: | 2024 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| DSFL Draft: | 2024 / Round: 2 / Pick: 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||
| Roster status: | Retired | ||||||||||||||||
| Career NSFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Career DSFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Player stats at ISFL.net | |||||||||||||||||
Bucky "The Winter Soldier" Barnes (born March 10, 2001) is a retired American football safety best known for playing in the National Simulation Football League (NSFL). He was selected second overall by the Outlaws in the 2024 (S9) draft from the San Antonio Marshals.
Contents
Early years
Bucky Barnes was born in Brooklyn, New York to parents George and Winifred. He got a job as a ball/water boy for the Lincoln High School team at the age of 14 even though he didn't attend the school. Lincoln High was in between his home and the school he actually attended so on his bicycle rides home he would stop by for their practices. When the coaches noticed him hanging around every day to watch them work, they figured they would throw him a bone and give him something to do. Eventually, he got friendly enough with the coaches and other players, in addition to packing on some muscle of his own, that they offered him a scholarship to become a student at Lincoln and be on the football team. Barnes earned himself a starting job as a safety/linebacker hybrid as a sophomore, in addition to returning kicks on special teams, and occasionally playing as a tight end or wide receiver. He would hold those starting jobs for the next 3 years earning All-State honors as a junior and senior.
College career
Barnes became one of the best defensive prospects in the country in high school. He earned multiple All-State awards in his 3 years as a starter for Lincoln High School and in his senior year was named a high school All-American as a safety. By his senior year he had grown to his height of 6'2" and was closing in on the 215 lbs that he measured at during the NSFL Combine. His combination of size, speed, and football IQ made him a highly sought after recruit for college coaches. One of the first schools to really try and get to know Bucky was Penn State. They always made him and his family feel comfortable when they would scout him and they weren't too far away from his home in Brooklyn. Barnes announced on ESPN's National Signing Day that he would officially be signing with Penn State to play for them in the Big 10. His freshman year he played only a handful of snaps as he sat behind established safety Malik Golden. He would win a starting job to play strong safety during the training camp before his sophomore year which he held for 2 seasons before leaving after his junior year to enter into the DSFL Draft. He was named to the All-Big Ten team as a sophomore and junior, and an All-American his junior season.
Professional career
DSFL Career
Barnes was acquired on waivers at the end of 2022 by the San Antonio Marshals, where he started the final 2 regular season games and their lone playoff game, which they lost to the Tijuana Luchadores. The 2023 DSFL Draft saw the Marshals bring Barnes back with the first pick of the second round. Barnes would become one of the anchors of the Marshals defense in Season 8 where he tied the DSFL record for interceptions in a season at the time, with 7. The Marshals would end the regular season with a record of 11-3, the best ever in the DSFL, before falling to the Tijuana Luchadores in the playoffs again.
DSFL Career Statistics
| Career statistics | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Games | Total | TFL | Sacks | Int | PDef | TD | FF | FR |
| 2022 (S7) | Marshals | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2023 (S8) | Marshals | 14 | 68 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 16 | 73 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | |
| Ht | Wt | 40‑yd dash | 20‑ss | 3‑cone | Vert jump | Broad | BP | Wonderlic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
215 lb (98 kg) |
4.38 s | 4.25 s | 7.1 s | 31.1 in (0.79 m) |
11 ft 0.5 in (3.37 m) |
23 reps | 30 |
NSFL Career
After a disappointing end to the 2023 season with the Marshals, Barnes turned his sights to the NSFL Draft. He had just had a great season and mock drafts had him going somewhere in the top 3 picks, held by the Sabercats, Outlaws, and Liberty respectively. The scouts for these teams all made Barnes feel like he could go to any of them and he'd be able to make an immediate impact at the NSFL level, something he had publically said he wanted to do. Barnes performed well in the Combine, truly distancing himself from the other defensive backs in the class and did his best to show he deserved to be a top pick in the draft. The Sabercats went with WR Xavier Flash to help out their young quarterback as the first overall pick but Barnes wouldn't be waiting around long after as his name was called next to the Arizona Outlaws. Barnes performed well his rookie season earning the Defensive Rookie of the Year award.
NSFL Career Statistics
| Career statistics | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | Kick Returns | Punt Returns | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Games | Total | TFL | Sacks | Int | PDef | TD | FF | FR | KR | Yds | Avg | Long | TD | PR | Yds | Avg | Long |
| 2024 (S9) | Outlaws | 14 | 73 | - | 4 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2025 (S10) | Outlaws | 14 | 68 | - | 5 | 2 | 6 | - | 1 | 1 | 33 | 701 | 21.2 | 40 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2026 (S11) | Outlaws | 14 | 85 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | 2 | 1 | 41 | 1027 | 25 | 108 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| 2027 (S12) | Outlaws | 14 | 75 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 1 | - | - | 31 | 661 | 21.3 | 44 | - | 19 | 223 | 11.7 | 55 |
| 2028 (S13) | Outlaws | 14 | 80 | - | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | - | 33 | 871 | 26.4 | 98 | 1 | 26 | 260 | 10 | 64 |
| 2029 (S14) | Liberty | 14 | 98 | - | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | - | 30 | 811 | 27 | 46 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2030 (S15) | Liberty | 14 | 76 | - | 2 | 4 | 8 | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2031 (S16) | Outlaws | 13 | 74 | - | 5 | 2 | 14 | - | - | - | 29 | 799 | 27.6 | 66 | - | 28 | 213 | 7.6 | 20 |
| 2032 (S17) | Outlaws | 13 | 61 | - | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | 81 | 9 | 12 |
| 2033 (S18) | Outlaws | 13 | 59 | - | 6 | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2034 (S19) | Outlaws | 13 | 90 | 1 | - | 1 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 150 | 839 | 3 | 36 | 20 | 62 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 197 | 4870 | 24.7 | 108 | 2 | 82 | 777 | 9.5 | 64 | |
Achievements and records
2023 (S8) DSFL Defensive Back of the Year
2023 (S8) DSFL Defensive Rookie of the Year
2023 (S8) DSFL Defensive Player of the Year
2024 (S9) NSFL Defensive Rookie of the Year
2-time NSFL Pro Bowl selection in 2027 (S12) & 2031 (S16)
2031 (S16) Ultimus Champion with Outlaws
