Jovantae Barnes feeling healthy after 'frustrating' 2023 season
NORMAN — For a lot of players, spring football is a much-needed return to the field after weeks of winter workouts.
There might not be anyone more grateful to be back than Jovantae Barnes.
“It feels amazing, man," Barnes said when asked by OUInsider on Monday.
For Barnes, there's a lot of reasons for that. The biggest reason is that last year didn't go according to plan.
Even before the Sooners began fall camp, the 2023 campaign got off to an uneven start. He missed most of the spring after undergoing surgery on a foot injury that had bothered him since high school.
Still, expectations were high for Barnes heading into the fall. He impressed as a true freshman in 2022, running for 519 yards and five touchdowns on 116 carries (4.5 yards per carry). The excitement went up a level in the Alamo Bowl, when he rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown in a tough loss to Florida State.
During fall camp, Barnes was largely projected to be the running back atop the depth chart. But despite seeing a few carries early in the year, Barnes was a distant third behind Tawee Walker and Marcus Major. Plus, that burst and explosiveness just wasn't on display quite like it was in 2022.
The reason? Barnes never felt fully healthy.
"It was just a lot to do with my foot surgery and just the timing," Barnes said. "(I was) trying to rush it and making sure I can be back for the season and be out here for the coaches so they depend on me. So I just wasn't ready and there'd be some times I'd be like, ‘OK, I feel good at practice. I feel good this week.’ And I’d go back out there and I just wouldn't be able to burst.”
Through the first seven weeks, Barnes recorded 33 carries for 139 yards (3.9 yards per carry) and a touchdown. He appeared in just three of the final six games, logging two carries.
The Sooners' running back room eventually found its footing with emergence of Gavin Sawchuk late in the year. But there were ups and downs throughout the season, and a big reason was Barnes' health.
“It was very frustrating," Barnes said. "But at the same time, I know God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers. So at the same time, I just had to take that as a mental error and make sure I could just be happy for my boys and make sure I was happy for Gavin, Tawee and everybody in the room. They were doing a good job.”
Another thing that kept him motivated was his relationship with OU running backs coach DeMarco Murray.
“The biggest thing is just my coaches and my teammates," Barnes said. "I know DeMarco had a lot of injuries in his past so he just made sure I just kept my head up. Just making sure I knew that everything's gonna be OK. … (There were) just a lot of guys just making sure I was OK, my family as well. So they helped me a lot and made me keep my head up.”
That relationship with Murray was the primary reason he never entered the transfer portal. And now, with the Sooners' spring practices underway, he's feeling more motivated than ever heading into his third season. His explosiveness was on display during the open portion of OU's Monday practice, and he was firmly taking the second-team reps behind Sawchuk.
He's finally feeling healthy.
“It’s going great. I feel back to normal, I feel back (to being) explosive," Barnes said. "So I’ve just been working on that during the offseason and making sure I’m just keeping my head up and just getting close with my teammates. Making sure I call my family everyday so they give me some motivation.”
His teammates, including quarterback Jackson Arnold, have noticed it, too.
It's gonna be awesome," Arnold said about Barnes' impact on the running back room. "You know, when Jovantae wasn't hurt, he would freakin' go his freshman year. And even if he wasn't hurt last year, he was going and he was a dude. So it's great to have him back and to have him (going)."
After a disappointing and frustrating campaign in 2023, Barnes is feeling thankful to be back on the field for a new year.
"It's truly a blessing," Barnes said. "I couldn't be more happy to be out here with my boys and be working. So I'm excited and just trying to get better every day.”