ORLANDO, Fla. — UCF Knights linebacker Ethan Barr looks to the sideline during a game against the … [+]
Academic success, leadership and performance on the football field comprise the core qualities of the Campbell Trophy. Ethan Barr will not win the prestigious award, now in its 35th year. However, the UCF linebacker was a two-time semifinalist, which is no small feat. Only 11 of the 204 semifinalists across all levels of NCAA-affiliated football and the NAIA made the cut the last two years. It is an acknowledgement for which Barr is grateful.
“You put in a lot of work and a lot of time with school and football, so to have that recognition on the national stage means a lot,” said the Flower Mound, Texas native, who was UCF’s second Campbell semifinalist (long snapper Alex Ward) in three years. “It goes to show that the work you put in does not go unnoticed. If you do all the right things consistently over time, good things are going to happen for you. That’s what I have been trying to do since I was a little kid.”
Barr, who arrived in Orlando with his wife, Delanie, in January following four fulfilling years at Vanderbilt and a pitstop in Washington, has also been on the Wuerffel Trophy (service to others) watch list thanks in part to his work with the Boys & Girls Club in Nashville. Academic achievement has been honored by College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA), which named him to the all-district team in 2023-24.
“My parents encouraged me to try to excel at everything I did,” he said of Beth and Ryan. “Getting As and Bs in school was really important to my parents. That has kind of carried me through my whole academic career, right up to this point.”
Barr is pursuing a master’s in educational leadership at UCF. He received his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt in human organizational development, an educational experience he found rewarding and potentially quite useful depending on what career doors he might bust through after hanging up his helmet.
“It focused on developing people as leaders, being able to analyze organizations, find ways to help them grow,” he said. “I was truly intrigued by what that degree had to offer.”
Gridiron growth
Former Texas A&M All-American and NFL defensive back Ray Mickens was instrumental in seeing to it Barr got the most out of the game and grew as a young man in the process. He was six years old when Mickens first coached him in flag football, the start of a relationship that continued through various levels of youth football.
“He definitely had a big role in helping me develop as a player and as a person,” said Barr, who keeps in touch with Mickens’ son, R.J., a defensive back at Clemson and who went to high school about 20 miles from where Barr attended. “As I went through elementary school and middle school, he was someone who really helped me along.”
His older brother has been a pillar to lean on, and not just because Creighton was a 6-foot-3 and 300-pound offensive lineman at North Texas from 2015 to 2017.
“I always looked up to him and he has always been there,” said Barr, who also has three sisters: Abbie, Emma and Olivia. “He is someone that I always go to for advice and follow in his footsteps.”
The footsteps led to getting into the lawn service business in high school and, well, football.
“Even today, he texts me and wishes me good luck before games,” said little brother. “He is someone I can talk to. He will give it to me straight and tell me the truth about something I ask him about. I really appreciate him for that. We have a really close bond.”
A two-time captain with the Commodores (45 games, 219 tackles) and a captain at UCF, the 6-foot-3 and 245-pound Barr is a coming off a game against visiting Arizona – the team’s annual Space Game — in which he recorded a season high 10 tackles and recovered a fumble that led to the Knights’ second touchdown in what would be a 56-12 win to snap a five-game skid. He heads into this week’s game at Arizona State with a team-leading 47 tackles for the 4-5 Knights.
“We struggled for a couple of weeks, but we have a really good team and I enjoy being around the guys,” said Barr. “I think we can finish strong.”
Ethan Barr received his undergraduate degree at Vanderbilt before beginning a new chapter in life at … [+]
Enjoying UCF
Barr did not directly come to UCF from Vanderbilt. He entered the portal following the completion of the 2023 season and heard from Knights’ coach Gus Malzahn, but committed to Kalen DeBoer’s Washington Huskies for his final year of college football. There was one problem: DeBoer left for Alabama shortly thereafter.
“With the whole coaching staff turning over, I didn’t necessarily know what was going to come of being at Washington,” said Barr. “I got back into the portal to survey my options and what was possible.”
With his time in Seattle proving to be nothing more than a two-week trip west, Barr was on the move again and made the nearly 3,100-mile trip to Orlando.
“Coach Malzahn and UCF reached back out and I felt inclined to come here,” he said. “I (accepted the offer) and we moved to Orlando.”
Barr is scheduled to complete his master’s in the spring. Educational leadership is an area of study that could lead him to one of many fields, even the gridiron.
“I like to be in leadership roles and be an advocate for change and things of that nature,” he said. “That’s why I chose this pathway. I think I have the ability to positively affect people, potentially young people. Perhaps I get into coaching. Maybe I do something in an administrative role within a school system or be a teacher.”
For now, life is good in the Sunshine State. When he is not wrapping himself up in football and academics, Barr is with Delanie playing with their dog, cooking on the grill and watching movies. A fishing rod may not be too far away. The couple wed in July, cementing a relationship that dates to middle school. It is a relationship that continued to grow even while Barr was at Vandy and with Delanie remaining in the Lone Star State to attend Baylor, and then Stephen F. Austin.
“We did the long-distance thing for four years,” he said. “She moved with me to Seattle and then to Orlando.”
And what a time it has been.
“I felt the love from this university and the coaches,” he said. “I really wanted to be a part of it. I really enjoy being at UCF. It’s a really good place with a lot of good people.”
