A.J. Barner

#89 · TE · Sr. · Michigan6′6″ · 251 lb · Aurora, OH

A.J. Barner: TE · Michigan · #89.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

George TakacsBoston College · 2022 · 80% season match
Justin BallVanderbilt · 2023 · 80% season match
Trey WalkerIndiana · 2023 · 79% season match
Will KacmarekOhio · 2022 · 78% season match
Tyler FosterOhio · 2023 · 77% season match

A.J. Barner

TE · Michigan · Sr · #89

Shows up in the passing game from any alignment. The four seasons span two programs and two head coaches: Tom Allen and Jim Harbaugh. One game to point at: 99 receiving yards and 8 receptions against Michigan State — Week 8, 2023.

Style of play

Play style

No single go-to route — the receiving numbers show up inline and split out alike.

Fans

No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.

Michigan in the news

Michigan to begin search for new ADOct 26

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2023	Michigan	22	249	11.3	1	22
2022	Indiana	27	193	7.1	3	43
2021	Indiana	14	162	11.6	1	76
2020	Indiana	--	--	--	--	--
Career		63	604	9.6	5	76

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2023 season · 10 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 2	W 35-7vs UNLV	1	12	12.0	0	12
Wk 4	W 31-7vs Rutgers	3	13	4.3	0	5
Wk 5	W 45-7@ Nebraska	2	26	13.0	0	16
Wk 6	W 52-10@ Minnesota	2	24	12.0	0	17
Wk 7	W 52-7vs Indiana	1	18	18.0	0	18
Wk 8	W 49-0@ Michigan State	8	99	12.4	1	22	Season-high 99 yds
Wk 11	W 24-15@ No. 9 Penn State	1	12	12.0	0	12
Wk 12	W 31-24@ Maryland	1	7	7.0	0	7
Wk 13	W 30-24vs No. 2 Ohio State	2	25	12.5	0	18
Wk 14	W 26-0vs No. 18 Iowa	1	13	13.0	0	13
Total		22	249	11.3	1	22

Signature game

Week 8 · 2023

W 49-0

at Michigan State

8 rec · 99 yds · 1 TD

Dominant 49-point win on the road against Michigan State.

With J. McCarthy — 287 yds · 4 TD · 0 INT · QBR 97.7 · T. Doman — 46.8 yards per punt · 4 punts · 1 inside the 20

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 8 · Michigan State · 3rd and 14 · Q1 · EPA +3.32J.J. McCarthy pass complete to AJ Barner for 21 yds to the 50 yard line for a
Week 8 · Michigan State · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.52J.J. McCarthy pass complete to AJ Barner for 11 yds for a TD (James Turner KICK)
Week 14 · Iowa · 3rd and 4 · Q1 · EPA +2.44J.J. McCarthy pass complete to AJ Barner for 13 yds to the 50 yard line for a
Week 8 · Michigan State · 2nd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +1.94J.J. McCarthy pass complete to AJ Barner for 11 yds to the MICH 42 for a
Week 2 · UNLV · 3rd and 7 · Q1 · EPA +1.84J.J. McCarthy pass complete to AJ Barner for 12 yds to the UNLV 27 for a
Week 11 · Penn State · 2nd and 10 · Q1 · EPA +1.73J.J. McCarthy pass complete to AJ Barner for 12 yds to the MICH 37 for a

4 more plays

Week 5 · Nebraska · 3rd and 7 · Q2 · EPA +1.58J.J. McCarthy pass complete to AJ Barner for 16 yds to the MICH 31 for a
Week 13 · Ohio State · 2nd and 9 · Q3 · EPA +1.26J.J. McCarthy pass complete to AJ Barner for 18 yds to the OSU 22 for a
Week 8 · Michigan State · 2nd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +1.19J.J. McCarthy pass complete to AJ Barner for 11 yds to the MSU 28 for a
Week 5 · Nebraska · 2nd and 4 · Q2 · EPA +1.13J.J. McCarthy pass complete to AJ Barner for 10 yds to the MICH 47 for a

Teams and coaches

2020Indiana6-2HC: Tom Allen · Balanced, fast tempo

2021Indiana2-10HC: Tom Allen · Pass-heavy, slow tempo

2022Indiana4-8HC: Tom Allen · Pass-leaning

2023Michigan15-0HC: Jim Harbaugh · Run-heavy, slow tempo

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 43 (#87 of 137). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the TE cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2023 season

43Rotational starter #87 of 137 · 2023?

10 metrics · season cumulative

2023 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: catch rate (90th percentile). Concern: explosive rate (25th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Catch rate#58 / 639 · 90th pct

95.7%

EPA / target#190 / 639 · 70th pct

0.94

Yards / catch#382 / 639 · 40th pct

11.3

TD rate#380 / 639 · 40th pct

4.3%

Explosive rate#476 / 639 · 25th pct

8.7%

Box-score rates (5)

Yards / catch#76 / 160 · 52nd pct

11.3

Receptions#76 / 160 · 51st pct

Rec yards#82 / 160 · 49th pct

249

Rec TDs#108 / 160 · 23rd pct

Long catch#145 / 160 · 9th pct

Season trend

Last seasonThis season

EPA / target

4th → 70th percentile

Explosive rate

4th → 25th percentile

Catch rate

4th → 90th percentile

TD rate

54th → 40th percentile

Yards / catch

6th → 40th percentile

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2023. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2023 season · 10 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home4g	1.8	17.0	11.7	0.0
Road5g	2.8	33.6	11.3	0.2

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-75g	1.8	18.6	11.9	0.0
Weeks 8+5g	2.6	31.2	11.4	0.2

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2023 season

Head Coach

Jim Harbaugh

Pass share

39.6%

360 pass / 550 run

Plays / game

60.7

15 games

Team sack rate

5.2%

384 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-heavy, slow tempo.

Awards

Player standing · 2023

22 catches in 10 games

About as many catches a game as a typical FBS tight end who plays every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

43 · #87 of 137 TEs · 2023

A.J. Barner

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

Michigan in the news

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

22 catches in 10 games

Four seasons, two schools, drafted

2024