Articles by Category
He’s still trying to “soak in the once in a lifetime experience” of being a national recruit, but Conner quarterback Drew Barker said Sunday he still plans to stick with his original timeline to make a college choice in the next few weeks.
He’s visited Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee this spring and likely will not take any other visits before probably deciding which of those three schools is right for him.
“I would like to get this over probably in early May,” said Barker. “I just have to sit down with my parents and see which school feels 100 percent right to me and them.”
He says his plan is not to choose a school based solely on the coaches.
“If you go solely on the coach and then he leaves, you are stuck,” Barker said.
Both Kentucky (Mark Stoops) and Tennessee (Butch Jones) have new coaches. Just a few months ago Jones was recruiting Barker for Cincinnati before he got the Tennessee job after the 2012 season ended.
“I am looking at the people around the school. You just kind of have a feel for if you like it or not. Some places immediately turn you off and some you really, really like. It’s kind of hard to explain, which is what makes it such a tough decision,” Barker said.
He’s getting plenty of help. Obviously, Kentucky has a lot of fans in his area that know him and his parents. However, Ohio high school juniors are also doing their best to sway him. Three who have committed to UK — receiver Thaddeus Snodgrass, running back Mikel Horton and linebacker Dorian Hendrix — have been in touch through social media. So has tight end Darryl Long, who could commit this week, and a few others who seem to be UK leans.
“They text and tweet me,” Barker said. “Kentucky has taken over Ohio.”
Barker admits he could “bounce back and forth” before making a “tough decision.” However, UK offensive coordinator Neal Brown, who has made Baker UK’s No. 1 quarterback priority in the 2014 class, told him his decision would not be that difficult. Instead, the difficult part would be telling schools no that were not his final choice.
“He said I would just eventually have to tell others that I am not coming once I know where I am going,” Barker said.
While another school might find a way to make a push, Barker admitted he’s primarily evaluating only Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee.
He was impressed with UK’s spring game crowd of over 50,000 that ranked sixth best nationally in total attendance. That’s a record ranking and attendance for Kentucky is the first official outing of the Stoops era.
Barker didn’t go to any UK home games in 2012 mainly because he was not being recruited by the Cats — something Stoops and Brown changed immediately. He did go to some games in 2011 and knew what an impressive turnout the spring game had.
“Kentucky has a great fan base. The crowd was awesome,” he said. “There were a lot of other recruits there, too, and they were all talking about the crowd and fan base. The fans tweeted at them and were saying their names. They all liked that. It was pretty cool to see that. Every school in the SEC is crazy on game day and to see that kind of atmosphere for the spring game at Kentucky was something players really enjoyed.”
One thing Barker has enjoyed — even if it has been a bit overwhelming — is being compared to former UK quarterback Tim Couch, who was the No. 1 pick in the 1999 NFL draft.
“That is pretty crazy. He is a legend here in Kentucky. It’s a blessing just to be compared to him. I met him a couple of weeks ago for the first time. He’s a great guy,” Barker said.
Couch turned down numerous out of state offers to play for UK and helped lead coach Hal Mumme’s team to the Outback Bowl, UK’s best postseason berth in the last 60 years.
Kentucky is using the same sales pitch with Barker.
“They want me to come in and be the hometown hero. They really think I can stay home and help turn the program around kind of like Couch did,” Barker said.
The Conner quarterback says even though life has “been a lot more hectic” with calls from coaches and media members, he’s not let it take away from his focus on his team.
“It’s not hard to concentrate. I got up at 5:30 (during basketball season) and went in and lifted (weights) and threw routes every morning,” Barker said. “This has not affected my football preparation. That’s one reason I want to get this decision out of the way and not let it impact our season at Conner as well as let the school I pick recruit more players to go with me.”
KSR Twitter Feed
vBulletin Message