Sam Hollenbach stepped up and hurled the ball in the direction of wide receiver Terrell Skinner. The pass was perfectly on target and was set to hit Skinner in the chest, right between the eight and five on his jersey.

But instead, the ball ended up in the hands of redshirt freshman cornerback Kevin Barnes, who stepped in front of Skinner and sprinted into the end zone.

Down by six at the time, the touchdown put the White team on the board. Later, Hollenbach did find Skinner with the Red team leading 12-10 – until Barnes stepped back into the spotlight.

Barnes popped Skinner and sent the ball fluttering into the hands of safety Chima Amadi. The interception gave quarterback Josh Portis and the White team the ball with a short field and they took it 35 yards into the end zone for the win.

When starting cornerback Josh Wilson went down with a sprained knee during the Terrapin football team’s second scrimmage April 23, Barnes proved he belonged among the top defensive backs with his athletic and physical play.

By stepping in front of passing, stepping into Skinner and stepping up in Wilson’s spot, Barnes earned praise, and a more defined place in the defense.

“He had another good day. I think we found a spot for him at boundary corner,” coach Ralph Friedgen said. “The guy isn’t very big, but he’ll hit you. The hit he had on Skinner, Skinner had him beat and he reacted and made a good hit. – That was a hell of a play.”

Fans at the scrimmage worried as Wilson was helped off the field and lay on a trainer’s table with his knee elevated. While Friedgen was noticeably concerned about the injury – which later turned out to be less serious and allowed Wilson to play in Saturday’s spring game – it gave Barnes an opportunity to get on the field.

After the scrimmage, in which Barnes had an interception and five tackles, Friedgen said Barnes had made a marked improvement.

“Kevin Barnes stepped up,” junior safety Marcus Wimbush said last weekend. “He had the pick. – I didn’t think that he had any missed assignments. He made a couple good tackles.”

Barnes was a special teams player last season, recording only four tackles. But this spring, he’s shown an ability to start with speed, physical strength and some mental elements that are often overlooked.

Last spring, Barnes showed off his quick feet in 40-yard dash testing. He clocked in at 4.45 seconds, according to the Terps’ spring prospectus. That speed, along with his anticipation skills, was on display Sunday when he beat Skinner to the ball and finished the play, clutching the ball in the end zone.

Skinner can attest for Barnes’ hitting skills, which allowed him to make four solo tackles Sunday and 129 as a starter in high school. And although he was not credited with a forced fumble on the play, the hit was just another example of why Barnes emerged as a potential star in the secondary.

Contact reporter Stephen Whyno at whynodbk@gmail.com.