Barry Cofield attended Cleveland Heights High School in Cleveland Heights, Ohio where he played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track. He was named all-league and honorable mention all-district as a senior in basketball. He averaged 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists per game that season. As a senior on the football team he totaled 84 tackles and 12 sacks, on his way to first team all-league and all-district honors. He was also named second team all-state. He was selected to play in the Ohio north-south and big 33 all-star games. He accepted a scholarship to Northwestern where he totaled 22 tackles as a true freshman in 2002. He earned a starting job his sophomore year, finishing the season with 27 tackles. He held on to his starting position as a junior, totaling 21 tackles, 1 sack, and 3 forced fumbles on the season. Cofield had his best year as a senior finishing with career highs in tackles (39), sacks (2), forced fumbles (6), and interceptions (1).

Barry Cofield is a versatile player with a great deal of experience, having started at both defensive tackle and defensive end at Northwestern. During that time he has proven to be a very durable player who rarely misses time due to injury. He has a good combination of size and athleticism for a defensive tackle. He has a quick first step and locates the ball quickly. He is very strong at the point of attack and is a great run defender who gets good leverage on his opponents. He isn’t a great pass rusher and he won’t get many sacks but he is strong enough to collapse the pocket and put pressure on the quarterback. Barry Cofield is a versatile player who could project as a defensive tackle in a 4-3 or a defensive end in a 3-4. He has a chance to be drafted in the middle rounds of the 2006 NFL draft.