~oUowing in his dad's footsteps, freshman Kris Y Barnes C3Tlle to Ha l'ding to punl for th e Bison football team. Often an un - glorified position , it n eve rtheless could also b e one of the most crucial positions for last minute victories . For Sal' nes, punting was almost second nature. "My dad was a punter for the Bisons back in '78 , so I grew up kicking and punting the ball ," Barnes said. "Growing up I would always compete in th e punt , pass and kick competitions. " Though Barnes had been a starting punter since e lementary schoo l , when h e came to Harding h e had to learn pati ence. He found out there wa s already a young punter on th e t eam so he would have to redshirt for his first year. Barnes said he had to get u sed to being a r edshil'l , but that it was a good expe ri en ce to be able to learn from someone who wa s once in the same position he was . Just because Barnes redshirted his first year does n o t mean he did not have a role to play on the t eam. Barnes spotted the ball for the offense and he was the ball boy during the games. "It's not the greatest job, but it 's fun because Iget to be on the sid e li ne with the players," Barnes said. Redshirting was not the only adjustment Barnes had to make; h e also had to get u sed to college life. Coming [Q Harding was an easy choice for Bames since his famil y had history with the school and his girlfriend was already attending school here. " I love be ing at Huding ," Barnes said. " I get to meet a lot of p eople and I love being involved wi t h things on campus and I want to j o in a social club. " Barnes said when he was in high school he went to bed al'ound 9 :30 or 10 p.m., but while in college and living in the d OI'm he went to b ed a lot later . On e contributing fa ctor for this could have bee n hi s pre - pharmacy major. "My dad wa s a phumaceutica l r e p. so I go t in to it at a young age," Barnes sa id. " I really like sci e nce. It 's not easy, but I like the chall e nge . " Barnes said he hoped to graduate in no more than four years with at least a 3 . 0 CPA. H e also wanted to b e an AlI - Culf South punter. " I love bei n g a punte r ," Barnes sa id. " Punting is a lot like gol f; you ' ll have a Go-ya rd punt th en 3 0 - yard punt. It' s very chall e nging and not just anyone can punt the ball. " With four years of playing eligibility ahead of him, Barnes looked forward to th e idea of improving his game during his time as a Bison. " I love the chall en ge o f getting b e tte r each and every day and b ecoming more cons iste nt ," Barnes sa id. Roberto McGowan freshmen 10 1
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