One last go at college football pays off in NFL shot with Saints for Williamston's Sy Barnett
Sy Barnett figured his college football days were done.
The Williamston graduate had just won a Division II national championship with Ferris State in 2022 and had embarked on the pre-draft process in hopes of getting a shot at the next level.
Barnett did combine training. He attended a pro day at Central Michigan and even was in contact with a few NFL teams.
But the NFL draft came and went without his name being called. And Barnett didn't get any calls from NFL teams over the following few days.
Eventually a call came from the Washington Commanders with an invite to mini camp. But by that time, Barnett had made up his mind to give college football one more shot. He turned down the invite, entered the portal and found his way to Davenport University as a graduate transfer.
"At that time, I already had a good idea if I went back and got more film and got different film than what I had (it would be good)," Barnett said. "(I figured) that I would have a better opportunity if I just stuck with it for one more year and did the whole process over again."
That decision has paid off.
Barnett — who was mostly a receiver in college — spent his time last season at Davenport focused on improving his route running and catching abilities based on feedback he received during the draft process in 2022. That progress led to Barnett earning a shot with the New Orleans Saints this week as an undrafted free agent.
Barnett became the first player from the Davenport program to sign with an NFL team as a UFA. He heads to New Orleans on Thursday with a mission to prove himself at the highest level.
"Getting that opportunity, it was an honor," Barnett said. "Hey, you've been noticed and your success is finally kind of paying off. Now it's restarting. That whole chapter is restarting now. I'm at the very bottom and I've got to keep on working to get back up to where I felt at that moment (when the Saints called me). Right now I feel like I've got so much that I've got to earn."
Barnett will aim to show his versatility to the Saints. While he's made big plays as a receiver, Barnett has also punted, handled placekicking duties and was a returner during his college career.
He had 53 catches for 694 yards and four touchdowns and averaged 42 yards on his punts, with four longer than 50 yards and seven landing inside the 20, during his lone season at Davenport.
Barnett is ready to display those wide-ranging abilities and give the Saints a better idea of who he is as a person this week.
"I'm prepared for everything," Barnett said. "I've been kicking and then obviously doing all my route running and catching the ball very well right now. I'm anxious to see what they have in store for me."
Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @brian_calloway.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Sy Barnett on mission to prove abilities to New Orleans Saints
