His father, Reggie, and uncle, Winfred Tubbs, bothbrstarred at Oklahoma and Texas, respectively, beforebrenjoying time in the NFL.br
“It's like I'm on each side of the Red River,” Barnesbrsays with a laugh. “But both have been great influences.brMy dad has been coaching me since I was six years old.brHe's really helped mold me into the player I am now.brAnd my uncle has always been there, too.”br
Now, the junior Southlake Carroll safety is lookingbrto follow in their footsteps.br
Barnes is one of the state's most highly toutedbrprospects in the 2017 class and already holds offersbrfrom the two aforementioned programs as well asbrAlabama, Nebraska, Oklahoma State and others.br
Baylor is making an early push, but both Oklahomabrand Texas will always remain close to his heart.br
“My uncle pushes Texas,” Barnes says. “He just tellsbrme that it's a good school with a great alumni base.brMy dad loves Oklahoma and jokes about me goingbrthere. But both want me to go where I'm happy andbrcomfortable.”br
With the season underway, Barnes wanted to putbrrecruiting on the backburner and did just that withbrhis recent decision to follow in his father's footstepsbras a Oklahoma Sooner. Now he can focus on helpingbrSouthlake Carroll win a state title.br
Barnes started two games at outside linebacker lastbrseason and finished his sophomore campaign with 33brtackles and one interception.br
The six-foot-three, 185-pounder is transitioningbrback to his natural position at safety and should be abrbig impact player on an extremely young SouthlakebrCarroll defense.br
“Robert has had a very good spring, summer andbrcamp,” says head coach Hal Wasson. “He's started somebrgames at outside linebacker and is moving back to hisbrhome at safety, so we're expecting some big things outbrof him this season.”