After eight months on sideline, Dante Barnett returns to action in Kansas State's spring game

Dante Barnett could have been preparing for the NFL Draft on Saturday like former teammates Cody Whitehair, Glenn Gronkowski and Morgan Burns. Instead, the senior safety was preparing for his fifth season at Kansas State and taking part in the Wildcats’ spring game.

The past eight months have felt like a detour for Barnett. His college football career appeared destined for all-conference honors and a shot at the NFL last August, but a shoulder injury suffered in K-State’s opening game sidelined him for the rest of the year.

The journey back was unexpected and unwanted, leaving many to wonder if Barnett would bother applying for a medical hardship waiver and return to K-State for another season when turning pro was also an option. But Barnett never though that way. To him, there was only one choice to make.

“You never want to go out like that, missing a whole season,” Barnett said Saturday, speaking with media for the first time since his injury. “For the NFL, you never know how you are going to get a shot. Having friends on the team, it was in my best interest to come back.”

So what are his goals for his second senior season?

“I only came back for one reason,” Barnett said. “That’s for us to win football games.”

Barnett thinks K-State took a positive step in that direction on Saturday. He liked the way the Wildcats’ defense played, especially from a depth perspective. The white team, compiled of backups, held the purple team to 35 points, making the scrimmage competitive until the end.

It was a slow day for Barnett, as he made just one tackle. Still, it was refreshing for him to be back in pads and in front of fans.

“I was happy to be back out there,” Barnett said. “To play in front of our fans again made me happy.”

No one expected Barnett to miss 12 games when he came off the field after making an awkward tackle against South Dakota last season. Barnett isn’t even sure how to explain the injury. He says he originally hoped to return in time for conference games, then the second half of the season and then the final few games. He even held out hope he could play in the Liberty Bowl.

Watching K-State’s defense struggle made him feel helpless.

But his shoulder took much longer than expected to heal. He wasn’t cleared for contact until this month.

He remembers every detail about his first tackle in spring practice. It came against running back Charles Jones, with Jones trying to break free for a long run. Barnett hit him shoulder first and drove him to the ground. When Jones got up, he had a question for Barnett. How’s the shoulder? Barnett grinned and told him it was in perfect shape.

“He is full-go and he has really done a nice job,” K-State coach Bill Snyder said of Barnett earlier this spring. “In fact, I was with the players a couple days ago after practice and addressed how well and how instinctive he was playing. When you sit out a year, it is not the easiest thing in the world to do. You think back to when the last time he even had pads on and when the last time he even made contact was. That has been a long period of time. But I thought he was being as active mentally as any time I have seen ... He is playing extremely well and so instinctive, which is so valuable for the position that he plays.”

Teammates are also glad to have him back.

“Having guys back is not only a boost from a player’s perspective but from a leadership perspective, especially having Dante back,” linebacker Will Davis said. “No one can replace his leadership.”

Barnett said playing in the spring game made him more excited than ever to return next season.

He had other options, but he wanted to keep playing for the Wildcats.

“All the years I have been here at Kansas State we have had a great defense and a great team, overall,” Barnett said. “We just want to get things back to the way they were.”

This story was originally published April 24, 2016 at 4:08 PM with the headline "After eight months on sideline, Dante Barnett returns to action in Kansas State's spring game."