Lemuel Joseph Barney (September 8, 1945) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). A native of Gulfport, Mississippi, he played college football at Jackson State from 1964 to 1966. He was drafted by Detroit and played for the Lions as a cornerback, return specialist, and punter from 1967 to 1977. He was selected as the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1967, played in seven Pro Bowls, and was selected as a first-team All-NFL player in 1968 and 1969. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992. He has also been inducted into the Detroit Lions Hall of Fame, the Jackson State Sports Hall of Fame, the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Early years Barney was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, in 1945. He attended the 33rd Avenue High School in Gulfport. He played at the quarterback position for his high school football team. Football career Jackson State Barney attended Jackson State University, a historically black university in Jackson, Mississippi. His son Lem Barney the 3rd and Grandson Lem Barney the 4th also followed in his footsteps and graduated from Jackson State. He played college football for the Jackson State Tigers football team from 1964 to 1966 under head coach Rod Paige. He had 26 career interceptions at Jackson State, including nine in 1965 and 11 in 1966. He also had punt averages of 41.7 and 42.5 in those two seasons. Barney was an All-Southwestern Athletic Conference selection three straight years. He was also selected as an All-American by Ebony magazine and the Pittsburgh Courier. Detroit Lions Barney was selected by the Detroit Lions in the second round, 34th overall pick, of the 1967 NFL Draft. As a rookie in 1967, Barney appeared in all 14 games as a starting cornerback and led the NFL with 10 interceptions, 232 interception return yards and three interceptions returned for touchdowns. After an injury to Pat Studstill, Barney also took over as the Lions' punter, punting 47 times for an average of 37.4 yards in 1967. On September 17, 1967, in the first quarter of his first NFL game, Barney intercepted the first pass thrown in his direction by Bart Starr and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown. In the final game of his rookie season, Barney