Anthony Barr

Anthony Barr (born March 18, 1992) is an American football linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL).

At the 2009 CIF Southern Prelims, he earned 11th-place finishes in both the 100 meter (11.01 s) and the 200 meter (22.40 s) dashes.

He took silver in the 200 meter dash at the 2009 Mission League Championships, recording a personal-best time of 21.86 seconds.

Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Barr was listed as the No. 8 prospect and the No. 5 athlete out of the state of California.

According to Scout.com, he was ranked as the No. 100 national prospect and the No. 10 outside linebacker.

He was also rated as the No. 1 athlete by MaxPreps.

He played college football for the UCLA Bruins from 2010 to 2013, earning consensus All-American honors in 2013.

However, he missed virtually all of his senior season after breaking his ankle in the September, and was also unable to participate in the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, to which he was invited.

Barr also lettered four seasons in track and field.

With scholarship offers from dozens of schools, Barr narrowed his decision down to Notre Dame and UCLA, before choosing the Bruins on January 21, 2010.

Barr was an offensive player his first two years at the University of California, Los Angeles, playing running back, wide receiver and tight end.

On October 21, 2010, against the Oregon Ducks, Barr made his first start, and he made 1 catch for 17 yards.

In 2011, he caught an 11-yard touchdown pass against the Houston Cougars.

Although he started 12 games on offense in both years, he ran the ball 15 times for 54 yards.

Barr struggled at being a running back, which almost caused him to quit football.

However, prior to his junior season in 2012, he switched to linebacker.

During Barr's first year as a linebacker, he recorded 13.5 sacks, 21.5 tackles for loss and 83 tackles.

His 13.5 sacks were the second-highest total in the nation (behind only Georgia's Jarvis Jones).

He was named a first-team All-Pac-12 Conference and was selected to the CBSSports.com College Football All-America second-team.

In Week 11, Barr was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week after his performance against the Washington State Cougars.

At the team's annual awards banquet, Barr was named the Most Valuable Player on defense (Henry R. "Red" Sanders Award).

In a November 2012 game against the USC Trojans, Barr sacked quarterback Matt Barkley, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.

In six games, Barr made more than 7 tackles, including nine against Stanford, eight in the Pac-12 Football Championship game, and nine in the Holiday Bowl against Baylor.

Despite being touted as a potential first-round draft choice in the 2013 NFL draft, Barr decided to return to UCLA for his senior season.

On July 8, 2013, Barr was ranked 37th as a possibility for the Maxwell Award and 3rd as a candidate for the Chuck Bednarik Award.

On July 15, 2013, Barr was named as a candidate for the Butkus Award and the Lombardi Award.

He was also named to the 2013 preseason All-American team.

Barr was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week after week 2 of the 2013 season, a 41–21 win over Nebraska on September 14, 2013.

He was also the Walter Camp Football Foundation player of the week on defense.

For the 2013 regular season, Barr had 62 tackles, 20 for a loss (ranked 9th) and has forced five fumbles (fifth best) and recovered four (second in the nation).

He was selected by the Vikings in the first round, ninth overall of the 2014 NFL draft.

Barr was an offensive player his first two years at UCLA, playing running back, wide receiver and tight end.

He struggled as a running back, and switched to linebacker during his junior year, at which position he was named a first-team All-Pac-12 selection and to the CBSSports.com All-America second-team.

As a senior Barr received the Lott IMPACT Award after leading the team in sacks.

In 2014, Barr's first season playing professional football in the NFL, he was named National Football Conference (NFC) Defensive Player of the Week for Week 8 and selected for the Pro Football Focus All-NFC North Team.

His rookie season was cut short due to a knee injury.

Following that season he made four consecutive Pro Bowl appearances (2015–2018).

In the spring of 2019, he signed a five-year extension of his contract with the Vikings.

Barr was born in South Bend, Indiana, but raised in Los Angeles, where he attended Loyola High School in the Pico-Union neighborhood.

He was a letterman in football and track, and was an All-State selection at running back for the Loyola Cubs football team after rushing for 1,890 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior.