West Virginia tight end Grayson Barnes (right) runs with the ball during last week’s game against Pittsburgh. (Photo by Benjamin Powell/The Dominion Post)

MORGANTOWN — With 11 seconds left, tight end Grayson Barnes lined up just two yards shy of the end zone. Across from him, he had defenders on either side of him. The ball was snapped, and Barnes took off, splitting the Pitt defenders. The ball went towards Barnes, and he corralled it for the game-tying touchdown in the Backyard Brawl.

“The whole drive, I was talking to the O-line and everybody, we got to dig deeper, fight,” Barnes said. “This is what we trained for all summer, hard edge, all that stuff. Kind of just do my job is what I was focused on. That whole drive going down, trying to run as fast as I can, do everything to the best of my ability. Then on that final play there, I wasn’t sure if it was going to come to me or not, but it did. The ball is up there, and the ball is up there, it’s mine.”

The game-tying touchdown was one of two big grabs on the final drive. Earlier, Barnes hauled in a 34-yard catch, moving the chains on second and 7. Barnes had five catches for 58 yards and the score. He’s becoming a more reliable target for quarterback Nicco Marchiol when No. 1 option Cam Vaughn is blanketed.

Barnes has enjoyed playing in Rich Rodriguez’s offense so far.

“I love it,” Barnes said. “I love Coach Rod’s philosophy. I love going fast and keeping the tempo up, keeping the defense on their heels and on their toes, trying to guess what we’re going to do next, and just keep going fast. I like being on the field, being able to stay on the field. I think this offense has showcased my blocking a lot more than my last school. Just being able to show that I can stay out on the field and I don’t need to be out there for passing downs or third downs or stuff like that.”

Before this summer, Barnes didn’t see himself making game-tying scores for the Mountaineers. This spring, Barnes was on Northern Illinois’ roster, preparing to play in the MAC. It was a big 2024 for the Huskies, too. Northern Illinois upset the National Champion runner-ups, Notre Dame, giving the Fighting Irish one of their two losses all season.

While practicing this offseason, Barnes felt complacent and wanted a change of scenery. He wanted to play in big games, like the Notre Dame one, all the time.

“The offense kind of stayed the same a little bit, and personally wanted to play on the bigger stage for my last year,” Barnes said. “So that was the main goal in transferring.”

Barnes entered the transfer portal, and he heard from a lot of coaches. He didn’t have the biggest season in 2024, with only 31 grabs for 338 yards and four touchdowns, but coaches were interested after Barnes’ highlight reel one-handed catch in the bowl game.

“I was with my family after the game, when we were having dinner, and then ESPN was on, and we saw that it popped up on the Top 10 Plays,” Barnes said. “That was a really cool moment for me and my family to enjoy together and have together. I think kind of blowing up and going everywhere. I think my name kind of got out there a little bit more.”

The first team to call was WVU tight end coach Michael Nysewander at 7:30 in the morning. Barnes and Nysewander talked for a while and set up a visit.

After his visit, Barnes was won over immediately and committed on April 19.

“Came here, mountains, trees, perfect atmosphere for me,” Barnes said. “I love it. I love being outside in nature and all that stuff. It’s just it was almost destined to be here.”

Barnes loved it so much, just a couple of days after his game-tying grab, he asked his girlfriend to marry him, with the mountains in the background.

“It was kind of my plan the past few months,” Barnes said. “I asked her dad for a blessing after we graduated from NIU. That’s been my plan. Kind of do it wherever God will take us. It was a beautiful view. I mean, the morning, Morgantown, the city, everything. It’s beautiful. It’s so green. Here. We loved it.”

“You know you’re in Almost Heaven,” he was asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Barnes said. “Definitely.”