Martize Barr is just happy to be back in a college town. For a guy from the Washington D.C. area, Council Bluffs, Iowa, was not his ideal location. After two years as a wide receiver and a safety for New Mexico, Barr spent the 2012 season in the Omaha, Neb., suburb of some 60,000 residents playing receiver for Iowa Western Community College.

After racking up nearly 500 yards and five touchdowns — and winning the NJCAA National Championship along the way — Barr now finds himself in Champaign with high expectations for the 2013 season. 

“Coming from D.C., (Champaign has) more of a city vibe than (Council Bluffs),” Barr said. “This is a college-town feel, and I love that atmosphere. Especially when you start winning games.”

Barr won’t have the chance to win any meaningful games until August, but he’ll have his first chance to showcase himself for Illini Nation on Friday under the lights at Memorial Stadium for Illinois’ Spring Game.

Barr, who has been on campus since January, is likely to see a considerable amount of action on the field in 2013. And with his experience at New Mexico — he played in 10 games as a sophomore — he is no stranger to the bright lights of major college football.

“From New Mexico, (the speed of the game) is about what I had thought it would be,” Barr said. “It’s definitely faster than junior college, I adjusted to the game pretty quick and now I’m just rolling, trying to learn the offense.” 

First-year wide receivers coach Mike Bellamy was in a similar situation when he played in the late 1980s, transferring to Illinois after playing at the College of DuPage in suburban Chicago.

“I think the transition that you make is just being able to understand that the game speed is higher, that the expectations are higher,” Bellamy said. “He’s put himself in a position where once he gets in shape and once he picks (the offense) up, he’s going to be an asset.”

Bellamy went on to spend parts of six seasons in the NFL after his career at Illinois. Barr has a longer way to go. He will be on the field at receiver for the Illini next season, and has seen reps as a punt returner through the spring. Barr has even been advocating for himself as a candidate for kick returner.

When asked if he’s been in his coach’s ear about returning kicks, Barr said, “[I’m] in everybody’s ear.”

He hasn’t seen many kick return reps yet, but he’s been put on the scout team and expects to get a chance at returning kicks there.

Head coach Tim Beckman said the biggest advantage transfer players have over high school recruits is experience. Barr is one of five junior college transfers to enroll at Illinois in January. 

“You’re going to go out and recruit a high school kid that’s committed to making a program better and making themselves better,” Beckman said. “It’s the same way you’re going to treat a junior college player.”

It’s no secret that Beckman receives transfers with open arms. In July, he and his staff caused considerable controversy when they openly admitted to recruiting Penn State players after NCAA sanctions were administered to the Nittany Lions program in the wake of the child sex abuse scandal. The staff broke no rules, and Illnois was certainly not the only team recruiting Penn State players, but the media heavily scrutinized the fervor with which the Illini recruited.

Only one Nittany Lion transferred to Illinois, that being offensive lineman Ryan Nowicki.

But Barr is not transferring from a Big Ten rival, and he has come a long way from Coolidge High School in Washington D.C. For him, Illinois is a new chapter in his book. And if he wants to see what the atmosphere in Champaign is like when the football team is winning, he and his teammates still have a lot of work remaining.

Sean can be reached at [email protected] and @sean_hammond.