Yellow Pages
MOUNT VERNON — It’s not unusual for high school football players to switch positions as their coaches explore the best way to use them.
What Dan Barnet did last year is a different story.
A year after making the unusual switch from wide receiver to center, Barnet is back at the wideout spot for this year’s Bulldogs — but he plans to use the same aggressive style he did last year.
Barnet played on the line throughout youth football, but planned to play wide receiver in 2008 for his junior year. He even trained exclusively at the position in the summer.
“I had gotten tall and skinny and sped up,” he said. “I told the coach I’d like to play receiver.”
But fate intervened with the plans of Barnet and first-year head coach Jaxon Schweikert. The squad’s starting center went down with an injury, and when no other options became available, Schweikert turned to one of his wideouts for help.
“A few days before the first game, I got called into the coach’s offense. He said he had seen me in defensive drills and noticed I blocked well,” Barnet said. “I was a last resort, but being a team guy I wanted to help.”
Schweikert said not all players would have been willing to make so dramatic a shift, going from a role where they juked cornerbacks to one where they fought off the opposing teams’ nastiest linemen.
“Not every kid wants to do whatever he can to help the team,” Schweikert said. “But Dan really likes to play ... he doesn’t care where he plays.”
The center position has duties other than just blocking and it took Barnet a while to get used to them. In his first game — just a few days after switching positions — Barnet hiked the ball over his quarterback’s head a few times.
“It was new to me,” Barnet said. “I kept hearing people in the stands and they’d say, ‘Why’s the center so bad?’”
But he quickly warmed to the position, liking the contact and the challenges.
“I liked the position,” Barnet said. “I liked the contact. The other teams always put the meanest, baddest guy at nose guard.”
Schweikert said the position proved a good fit for the hard-nosed player.
“Dan likes to block and tackle,” he said. “Some players don’t like to.”
This year, Barnet is back at the position he intended to play his junior year — receiver. He caught one pass in the season opener for an 11-yard gain and is looking forward to more.
He hopes to stay aggressive if he can.
“I don’t get the head-smashing like I did before,” he said. “But I like to catch passes and be able to run over someone.”
• Trevor Pyle can be reached at 360-416-2156 or by e-mail at .
