Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE
When Anthony Barr was set to fill in for UCLA football at the linebacker position, no one knew what to expect. Prior to UCLA’s game against Rice a couple of Thursdays ago, Barr had only had game-time experience buried on UCLA’s running back depth chart.
During the game against Rice, Barr proved he could be an explosive defensive option at the linebacker position. Our boy at Punting Is Winning gave you those highlights awhile back, and we were impressed.
Of course, he took notice of Anthony Barr — again — against Rice, and man oh man, are these highlights just as impressive. Check it:
Close your mouth, Anthony Barr might fly in there.
Barr was absolutely fantastic vs. Rice and his explosion has become a wonder for this defense. That’s evidenced in the final play of the video, where he accidentally pursues the running back on a fake and then re-tools,  catching up to Taylor Martinez to ensure he doesn’t get extra yardage.
Barr has been the most pleasurable surprise for this UCLA defense, and he also seems to characterize it, too. This is a very fast, very quick, ball-hawking type of defense and that’s exactly the type of guy Barr is on the field.
We’re glad to see this, and obviously, so is PIW.
GO BRUINS!!!