Steve Barnett (June 4, 1941 – January 2, 2018) was a true student athlete at the University of Oregon, earning athletic and academic All-America honors while a Duck.
Born in Oklahoma, Barnett graduated from Fremont High School in California. He played for coach Bill Walsh, who used linemen such as Barnett as power running backs in short yardage situations.
Len Casanove recruited Steve to Oregon in 1959. This was time the Ducks played as independents following the fracture of the Pacific Coast Conference. UO still advanced to two bowl games during that time. Steve Barnett was part of the 1960 team that went 7-3-1 and faced Penn State in the Liberty Bowl.
The 6-foot-2 255-pound lineman was voted All-Coast three times and All-America twice, second team in 1961 and first team as a senior. Barnett played in the East-West Shrine Game as well as the Hula Bowl and the College All-Star Game.
In 1963, the Chicago Bears selected Barnett in the second round of the NFL Draft, while the San Diego Chargers selected him in the ninth round of the AFL Draft. He chose the Bears and played one season in Chicago. The Bears won the NFL championship. He spent one more season in the league with the Washington Redskins. Steve later was an assistant to Bill Walsh in the Continental Football League. After football, he worked in the pharmaceutical industry and performed community service in California's East Bay.
Steve Barnett was inducted into the University of Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.