Barna hoping to contribute to Illini’s Wheaton weekend
As a Wheaton native, Illinois linebacker Joe Barna should feel right at home Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Champaign.
The No. 22 Fighting Illini are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Red Grange's epic performance against Michigan, when he scored four long touchdowns in the opening quarter.
Grange, of course, is a Wheaton native. In addition to “The Galloping Ghost,” he was also known as “The Wheaton Iceman,” based on his part-time job delivering ice.
“It's kind of special having that good of a player coming out of Wheaton Central,” Barna said this week in a phone interview. “It's just really special. The big rivalry game, North vs. (Wheaton Warrenville) South, we heard about him all week.”
Barna has opened eyes in Champaign, getting playing time as a true freshman. He collected his initial college sack in the very first game against Eastern Illinois and recorded a season-high 5 tackles at Penn State. He credits enrolling early for the rapid success.
“I was more of a defensive end in high school with my hand in the dirt,” Barna said. “Learning how to stand up (as an outside linebacker), learning how to drop in coverage a little bit more and just learning the plays helped with my success. And being around a bunch of great leaders in my OLB room.”
Illini defensive coordinator Aaron Henry raved about Barna after the EIU game, pointing out how he was underrated as a recruit out of Wheaton North. Barna was ranked the No. 35 player in the state by 247sports last year.
“What I love about college football is there are so many diamonds in the rough that just kind of go unnoticed,” Henry said. “We saw things on tape that gave us an inkling of how talented this young man was. But it's not until you see him in practice, not until you see him in the trenches with some of our O-lineman.”
Henry also called Barna “low maintenance” and a junkie in the film room.
Barna got something of a late start in football. He spent his sophomore year at Wheaton North on the sophomore team, was brought up to varsity for the playoffs and opened some eyes in the 2021 Class 7A title game against St. Rita. Barna had 2 sacks, which included a forced fumble that teammate Trent Gabriele picked up and ran for 28-yard touchdown on the final play of the first half. The stunning turn of events gave the Falcons a 21-0 lead, and they went on to win 35-6.
“We primarily used him as a pass rusher in the playoffs because of his quickness off the edge,” Wheaton North coach Joe Wardynski said. “He probably only weighed about 230 pounds back then.”
Now listed at 6-foot-4 and 265, Barna will try to add more big plays to his resume Saturday against No. 24 Michigan. Besides the Red Grange anniversary, it's the first matchup of ranked teams at Memorial Stadium since 2000. The Illini also are celebrating the stadium’s 100th year.
“You keep hearing about this atmosphere we're going to have, sold out,” Barna said. “Excited to have this atmosphere that I'll probably remember for the rest of my life.”
Local roundup:
Augustana running back Mike DiGioia (Schaumburg) ran for 216 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 35-21 win over Elmhurst. … Mark Forcucci (Wheaton North) threw 4 touchdown passes, all to wide receiver Ben Bonga, in Wheaton's 42-21 win over Illinois Wesleyan. … Freshman Donovan McNeal (Warren) led No. 1-ranked North Central in rushing with 82 yards on 10 carries in a 70-14 win at Millikin. Wide receiver Thomas Skokna (Hinsdale Central) added 116 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns.