What could an MMA champion, a Hall-of-Fame football coach, and a Hall-of-Fame shortstop possibly have in common with Ramses Barden? Not much, if you don’t think being Cal-Poly alum is significant. John Madden, Chuck Liddell, and Ozzie Smith are among a very small handful of sporting entities that graduated Cal-Poly. If Barden can establish himself at the next level, it won’t take him long to be the 2nd most famous football figure to come out of the program. – we know, that’s a lot to take in at one time.
At 6’6, 229 lbs, Barden is the most physically imposing WR prospect of the 2009 NFL draft and becomes the G-men’s most promising red-zone threat since Cheddar Bob moved on. The Giants went heavy on receivers in the 2009 draft as they sought to replace the game-breaking ability of Plaxico Burress. Burress had everything you could want out of a WR…except good judgment and work ethic of course.
Barden is tall, strong, and has soft hands. In his final year at Cal Poly, Barden caught 1,257 of his team’s 1,991 total passing yards (63%) and 18 of his team’s 23 passing TDs (78.2%). Admittedly, he faced lesser competition than other WRs who went earlier in the draft, but NFL history happens to be in his favor. Receiving greats such as Jerry Rice, Jimmy Smith and Andre Reed, as well as current studs Donald Driver and Terrell Owens, all experienced NFL success despite playing their college ball at small schools.
