Walk-ons. Rejects. We weren’t supposed to be here. When the world didn’t think we belonged, we did.

That was the opening message in Liberty Football’s hype video prior to this past Saturday’s game at Virginia Tech. While that message rings true for many on Liberty’s roster this season, perhaps no one fits it better than kicker Alex Barbir.

We will pick up his story in the fall of 2016. The Cumming, Georgia native was entering college at Penn State on scholarship as a kicker. He would redshirt his first season and then played in just three games in 2017 where he served as a kickoff specialist with five kickoffs during the year. At the end of the 2017 season, Barbir decided he needed a change of scenery.

“Part of the reason I left Penn State was because of the environment,” Barbir said. “I’m not going to sit here and speak bad on Penn State or anything like that, but, as a Christian and what I value, Penn State was not good for me. I kind of felt it was detrimental to me as a person, spiritually.”

Certainly things weren’t going the way he had planned at Penn State. He suffered a torn labrum in his hip which required surgery in January 2017. It kept him from walking for a period of time as he went through rehab and never quite got back to the way he felt prior to surgery, he said. He decided to transfer to Liberty where both of his older brothers had attended, one was still in medical school at Liberty at the time of his transfer, as well as one of his best friends from high school. But he didn’t come to Liberty to play football.

“I quit football all together,” Barbir said. “I came here, did normal student life.”

That continued for the spring of 2018 while he was on campus at Liberty. The 2018 football season came and went. The 2019 season became a memory. All the while, Barbir was enjoying his time at Liberty away from the football field. He stayed in shape though, putting on 25 pounds of muscle during his time as a student in Lynchburg. He now looks more like a body builder than a kicker.

“I didn’t kick for three years,” he said. “Football was not in my plan for the rest of my life. I was done. I wanted to live a normal life, be a student, get a job, move on.”

Meanwhile, across campus, Liberty football was writing its own special story. The Flames had moved to the FBS, the highest level of college football, as an Independent. Turner Gill retired. Hugh Freeze was hired. Liberty advanced to and won its first ever bowl game. The Flames were set at kicker, also. Alex Probert was a three year starter and former Big South All-Conference selection. He had made 46 of 53 field goals in his career and was third on the school’s all time scoring list entering his final season of eligibility in 2020.

“My excuse for not playing and really giving it a try post surgery was they already had Probert for multiple years,” Barbir stated. “Starting kicker, he’s got one more year. Is it really worth possibly playing or just sitting on the bench for a year? For me, it wasn’t.”

Then, in early February 2020, the Liberty football coaching staff and Barbir were surprised when Probert announced his intentions to transfer. A few weeks later, he would announce that he was transferring to Iowa State where he would compete for the starting kicker job for the Big 12 school.

That put the Flames in a pinch. Liberty was left with just one kicker on its 2020 roster and signing day had passed. There weren’t many available kickers on the market that late in the process.

Barbir heard the news the same night Probert announced he was transferring. Liberty’s coaching staff reached out to Barbir the following morning.

“When Probert left, that was an open door,” said Barbir. “To me, it was like I don’t have an excuse. What is my excuse to not at least try? I’m someone who’s a hard worker, determined. I’m going to go hard regardless. My dad had been on me for the past two years (to keep playing football). When that opportunity came, I pretty much decided that I would rather say that I at least tried. If I fail, I fail, but at least I put in the effort to try to be the kicker versus being 20 years down the road and be like, man, if I would have kicked would I have been good? Would I have gone to the NFL? When you close a door like that, you have no clue. I would rather say that I tried. If I fail, it is what it is, but it is also a possibility that I will also be successful and then eventually play after school. I have no clue what will happen. I didn’t want to have that feeling, 10-15 years down the road, saying I wish I would have done it.”

He joined the Liberty football team in the spring of 2020 with no promises. He would have to battle with redshirt-freshman Jason Stricker for the starting job. As the COVID-19 pandemic began to make its way across the United States, Liberty had to cancel the rest of its spring practice following just five workouts. Barbir pulled his groin in the summer and was not back to full strength for three months.

“I had about a month and a half to prepare for this season after not kicking for three years,” he said. “It’s been mentally, very tough.”

Ultimately, Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze would announce at the end of training camp in early September that Barbir won the starting job, but it was really by default.

“Stricker got hurt with the same injury that Alex had back in the spring,” said Freeze. “We didn’t have an option. He was really the only guy we had. We started looking among our student body to find out if we had another guy that could at least be a backup in case we lose Alex too. He was really forced into it.”

In Liberty’s season opener at Western Kentucky, his first game attempting a field goal or extra point since his senior year of high school in 2015, Barbir had mixed results. He missed one of his four extra points, made a 24-yard field goal, and had 42-yarder blocked. He would begin the season making just 4 of his first 7 field goals with the longest successful attempt coming from 27 yards. Entering Liberty’s game at Virginia Tech this past week, Barbir was 7 for 11 on his field goals with a long of 42.

With No. 25 Liberty and Virginia Tech tied with less than a minute remaining, the Flames had the ball and was driving to hopefully set up for what would be a game winning field goal attempt from Barbir. Special Teams Coordinator Tanner Burns told Freeze prior to the drive that he would feel comfortable if Liberty could move the ball to the 35-yard line to set Barbir up with a 53-yard field goal attempt.

The Flames’ drive stalled at the 40 yard line and Freeze elected to send Barbir and the field goal unit onto the field for a 58 yard attempt with eight seconds remaining. Freeze thought Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente would call a timeout to attempt to ice Barbir. He was watching Fuente across the field, saw him standing by an official, saw him motion for a timeout, and heard the whistle. Not everyone on the field did, as the ball was snapped, Barbir stepped into the kick, the Hokies blocked it and picked it up and returned it for a touchdown.

After a brief discussion, the officials ruled the timeout was taken before the ball was snapped. It gave Liberty another chance where the Flames would send the offense out on the field. Malik Willis would connect with an open CJ Yarbrough to pick up eight yards as he stepped out of bounds with five seconds left.

This gave Barbir a second opportunity, this time from 51 yards, and he would deliver with the biggest field goal make in Liberty football history. The Flames improve to 7-0 with the win over Virginia Tech and are now ranked No. 22 in both the Coaches and AP Top 25 Poll. After the game, Barbir said it was the biggest kick of his life.

“Yeah, 100%, by far,” he said. “I had a similar one in high school my junior year, hit a 56, but it can’t be compared to beating an ACC opponent like Virginia Tech to go 7-0. Insane. I’ve been crying so much, it’s just unbelievable for me.”

“Once I saw that thing go through, I started running and I was just crying,” he continued. “I didn’t know what was going on. My tears were going hard down my face. I couldn’t contain my excitement and emotion.”

To go through everything he has been through the past few years, his emotions are certainly understandable. Barbir was awarded with the game ball following the win, the biggest win in school history as Liberty continues to build its program at the FBS level. After the team had finished its celebration on the field and returned to the locker room, Barbir came back onto the field. He made his way to the 50-yard line of a now empty Lane Stadium where he sat down and reflected on his journey.

“I’ve been really trying to live a God-first life and having him as my priority and my number one,” Barbir said following the game Saturday of what was going through his mind during that time. “Understanding that whether this field goal goes in or not, that doesn’t determine who my God is for me. I pretty much just wanted time to myself, to just let it soak in, thank God for what’s happened and reflect on where I’ve come from. I was so blown away, I just wanted to reflect on what’s happened in my life. I’m just blessed, honestly.”