TAMPA — The concern wafted in Charlie Strong's psyche. Perhaps it still does to a degree. Locker rooms teem with delicate egos, and Strong had just punctured two.
How would veteran USF quarterbacks Brett Kean and Chris Oladokun respond to being informed coaches had settled on 6-foot-5 graduate transfer Blake Barnett as the starter? Just as significantly, how would their peers take the news?
"A lot of times, that is one of your biggest fears," Strong acknowledged, "because they have developed those relationships."
Together, the pair had poured gallons of sweat equity into USF's program while patiently waiting for Quinton Flowers' turn as legend-in-residence to end. Kean had spent three years as a backup, Oladokun two. As recently as April, the presumption was one of them would be chosen as Flowers' heir.
Barnett, 22, arrived in May.
On Tuesday, Strong confirmed he had won the job.
"I just tried to get a feel for the team and see what the pulse was," Strong said. "And I asked some guys, 'Okay, whoever comes out (as No. 1), are you guys gonna have an issue with it?'"
Strong said the responses have been favorable. Senior slot receiver Tyre McCants, the only offensive player made available Tuesday, corroborated as much.
"I think with (Barnett), he's very poised back there, and he just gives that extra confidence in the offense," McCants said.
But in the immediate wake of Strong's announcement, it would be naive to suggest nary a feather has been ruffled over the most significant decision of USF's preseason.
And at a time when transferring has gone nearly amok, one must presume Kean and Oladokun — two of the team's more popular guys — have at least contemplated their futures.
All of which means the pressure's on Barnett to validate his coaches' decision and produce at this, his third Division I-A stop. If August has provided any sign, he will.
"He's done some things this camp that surprised a lot of us," McCants said. "We didn't expect it from him. He's really athletic, being a taller guy."
Strong concurs. "I was shocked to see (the mobility) because he said to me, 'I run faster than what you thought,'" he said. "I said, 'Yeah you (do). I never saw that speed.'"
Barnett's physical upside or skill set never has been the issue. His ability to effectively employ them on college's biggest stage has. His career stats entering Saturday's game against Elon: 14-for-24, 259 yards, two touchdowns, one interception.
His well-chronicled tenure at Alabama peaked his redshirt freshman year, when Nick Saban named the southern California native the opening-night starter against USC in 2016. But he was pulled midway through the first quarter when the offense began sluggishly, and essentially Wally-Pipped by Jalen Hurts.
He left Tuscaloosa shortly thereafter. Then last year at Arizona State (after a juco stopover), he couldn't unseat incumbent Manny Wilkins, spending the season as a backup.
Yet Strong believes this bizarre collegiate odyssey has helped Barnett mature. So has fatherhood.
On March 12, Barnett and wife Maddie — a professional model and surfer whom he met at the 2015 Under Armour All-America Game — welcomed Brooks Archer Barnett into the world. The family resides in Tampa.
"With each player, I make 'em tell their story," Strong said. "I get 'em in front of everyone, in front of their team, and I say, 'Listen, I want you to tell your story. But I don't want you to talk about football, I don't want to hear anything about football.
"So Blake gets up and was talking about, 'I've been there guys. I was a five-star, I was the No. 1 player in the country. I was this, I was that. … It probably happened too fast for me. So now that I've settled down — I have a family, I have a child — it's a totally different perspective for me.'"
Strong shared one other anecdote. He was leaving his office one night around 9 o'clock when he encountered Barnett, seated on the sidewalk.
I said, 'What are you doing?'" Strong recalled. "He said, 'I'm waiting for my wife to pick me up. … I've been up here in the film room, because I've got to pick this offense up, Coach.'"
If perspective, maturity and potential really have converged for Blake Austin Barnett, perhaps this is finally the year he puts it all together.
And brings a team together in the process.
"He's a great leader," McCants said.
"The schools he's come from, he takes some qualities from them and brings them to us, which helps the entire offense and entire team out. He never really gets angry. He wants the best to happen, and if that's not happening, he knows how to calm the team down, he knows how to get us rolling."
Contact Joey Knight at
jknight@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_Bulls.
