At the end of Tennessee home games, Hunter Barnes does what plenty of Volunteers do: he heads straight to the end zone to find his family. On Sept. 19, though, the moment with his mother, Tonya Barnes, carried a different kind of weight.
Barnes arrived at Tennessee before the 2022 season as a preferred walk-on, and his path to Knoxville came with a familiar face behind it. Tennessee’s former running backs coach Jerry Mack - now the head coach at Kennesaw State - was the one who helped bring him in.
“He was like, ‘Mom, I’m going to UT,’” Tonya said.
“He was shell-shocked when Coach Jerry Mack called Hunter and said, ‘You belong here. We want you here if you want to come to UT.’ And Hunter was like, ‘I’m there, man.’”
For Barnes, the football part had been limited over his first four seasons. He had carried the ball only 13 times. But his mother’s battle with colon cancer kept the bigger picture front and center, and it was still possible for her to show up at games, including Tennessee’s matchup with Kennesaw State.
During a week when injuries had thinned out the Volunteers’ running back room, Barnes told his mother he might finally get a chance. He made her a promise.
“He said, ‘Mom, if I go in, I’m scoring for you.’”
Barnes followed through in a big way. After ripping off a career-long 38-yard run, Tennessee found itself at the Kennesaw State 3-yard line. Barnes got the ball again and punched in his first career touchdown.
After the game, Tonya Barnes said she was searching for her son when the family celebration began, only to learn he was tied up with an interview. Tennessee Athletics spoke with Barnes as Arion Carter led MVP chants for him.
When Barnes finally made it to his family in the end zone, he had one line ready for his mother: “Didn’t I tell you I was going to do it for you?”
For the Barnes family, it was a touchdown they had waited years to see. For Tonya, it meant even more than that.
“We’re still talking about that touchdown, and we will forever be talking about that touchdown,” she said. “He touched down for me. He touched down for everybody who’s in this battle, in this fight.”
Barnes plans to enter the medical field once his Tennessee playing days are over.
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Tennessee Alabama Just Got Even Bigger In Knoxville
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The setting should feel as big as the stakes, with Neyland Stadium already sold out and fans expected to pour in early for a rare chance to make a long Saturday of it. Tennessee is also sweetening the game-day experience with half-price concessions for the first hour after gates open, which figures to help fuel the kind of atmosphere the Vols hope to ride once the broadcast lights move from campus to the stadium. [Read more 🡒]