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| Barnes, 80, seen during a game during the summer of 2009. (John C. Whitehead/The Patriot-News) |
About to enter the 2014 season under new ownership and a new home field, the Central Penn Piranha football team already has reason to brag. Former Phish receiver Terrill Barnes has received an invitation from the Washington Redskins to try out for the team this weekend during their rookie minicamp.
Barnes' alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania (IUP), broke the news on Twitter earlier this week.
Former #IUPFB WR Terrill Barnes has been invited by the Washington Redskins to rookie mini camp beginning on May 16, joining QB Mike Box.
— IUP Crimson Hawks (@IUPCrimsonHawk) May 11, 2014
"When he was with the Piranha a lot of the players told him he needed to go to school, that he was too good to playing here at such a young age," current Piranha head coach and part-owner Tom Laubach said on Friday.
Barnes took his teammates' advice and transferred from Lackawanna Community College to IUP in 2011. In his final season at IUP last fall, Barnes caught 63 passes for 1,104 yards, causing NFL scouts to take notice.
Barnes and his college quarterback, Mike Box, both received invitations from the Redskins to try out for the team this weekend. A Gettysburg native, Barnes stands 6'-3" and weighs in at 215 pounds.
"He is truly a gifted athlete and I believe he will make it in the NFL," Laubach said.
While Barnes tries to make it at the highest level, his former team, the Piranha, are getting ready to kickoff their 2014 season. CPP will take on the Brooklyn Seminoles in their season opener at Warwick High School this Saturday (May 17). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.