The Drew Barker Diary: "We know these coaches are going to win"
Future UK Quarterback Drew Barker will be writing a diary for KSR throughout his senior season to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at what's going on in recruiting and the changes in the UK football program. Check out his earlier entries:
Laying a Foundation
Keeping the momentum going
Recapping The Elite 11/The Opening
The New Kentucky Football
Football is Finally Here
Bringing the Winning Mentality to UK
Hey BBN, it's been a while. You could probably guess this, but I’ve been pretty busy with football lately. We ended the regular season 7-3 and now we’re getting ready for the playoffs. We lost early in our first district game to South Oldham, so we ended up getting the #2 seed in the playoffs. That means we play Montgomery County tonight at Conner at 7:30 p.m. We’re getting ready for that and it’ll be a good game. We played them last year in the first round and won 49-20, but they were pretty young. They’ve got some of the same guys back, so it will definitely be a tougher game than last year. I’m looking forward to playing them.
[caption id="attachment_144915" align="alignnone" width="500"]
With my family on Senior Night[/caption]
Coach Stoops and Coach Brown came to my senior night a few weeks ago. I’m not allowed to talk to them while they’re visiting, but during the game, I had a 70-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, and I looked over and saw Coach Stoops do a fist pump, which was pretty funny. He was pretty fired up, which was really cool. Later on, they called and told me they were really excited and that I played really well. They liked my quick release, accuracy, audibles at the line, and my escapability or making something out of nothing. Overall, they said they were really impressed and can’t wait for me get there in January.
[caption id="attachment_143867" align="alignnone" width="500"]
Photo by Scott Davis[/caption]
Of course, I’ve been keeping a close eye on the Cats this season. They’ve had some unfortunate breaks at quarterback with both Jalen and Maxwell going through injuries. That definitely makes it hard not just on the quarterback, but the team as a whole since you have to be comfortable with two quarterbacks instead of just one. It’s been tough, but they’re doing the best they can and honestly, we’ve been in some tight games. The South Carolina game was just unfortunate because Jalen had a great game, we just got the offense started a little too late. The Mississippi State game was really tough, we had some tough breaks, and just a lot of things that didn’t go our way. Obviously the Alabama State game was one we should have won, and we did. I’m looking forward to watching them play Missouri this week because they’re a top-ranked team and have played very well this season. I know Jalen’s back in there as the starter, and like I said, the team is probably more comfortable knowing he’s the primary guy, so I’m looking forward to seeing the result on Saturday.
I’ll admit, it’s tough to watch the games and not picturing myself as the quarterback. As any kid does when they’re watching the game, I wish that was me. I’m taking it one day at a time and trying to focus on getting my high school team to a State Championship. Next year, nothing’s guaranteed, so I’m gonna go in there, work hard and show them my work ethic. They’re going to play the person they think puts the team in a position to win, and if that happens to be me, that’s great, but if it doesn’t, I’m going to work hard every single day and do the best on the scout team, redshirt, whatever will make the team better.
One thing I’ve noticed about the team this season is the losing mentality is gone. It just shows recruits and fans how much respect the players have for the coaches. It shows them that they don’t want their coaches to have the disappointment of the loss and will go and fight a battle every single week for them. That’s honestly a big reason we’re having such success in recruiting, too. You can tell these coaches want a winner, and confidence breeds confidence, and they’re confident. It’s kind of like a disease. Once one person has it, it starts spreading and catches on like wildfire. I love the new attitude this coaching staff has brought to the program.
It’s great to see Coach Stoops get fired up on the sidelines, too. When he was at my game a few weeks ago, he was getting pumped up and you can tell he really loves the game. When you see him going off on the refs on the sidelines, it shows how much he cares about his players and his team and the respect he has in them. He’s putting it all on the line, and it shows the players that he has their back and won’t give up on them. Some coaches will recruit you and act completely different when you go there and start playing. You can tell Coach Stoops has that same fire and passion on the field that he does off the field. That’s just awesome to see, and very encouraging.
[caption id="attachment_144914" align="alignnone" width="426"]
Photo by Scott-DavisPhotography.com[/caption]
That’s another reason the 2014 class can’t wait to get on campus. I thought it was funny, after the first couple of games, everyone was like “Oh, they’ll have three or four decommitments by the end of the season” and we haven’t even had one. I don’t think we’re going to have one at all, because we’re all already like brothers. I saw the quote from Matt Elam when he said he has the best relationship with the UK recruits of anybody. We’re all just like a family. We don’t just talk football. If anyone’s struggling or going through something, they can count on us and we’ll be there for them. We’ve got each other’s back and it’s really unique. You don’t see that at any other schools at all. You visit some schools and there are like five or six dudes that are close, but not all 25. I think it’s just really cool. It takes a special kind of person to commit to a school coming off a two-win season. A lot of us have offers from top ten teams, but we choose to go to UK because we know that these coaches are going to win. You can already tell from this year, we’ve been in some tight games and they haven’t given up. It’s possible. Just look at Texas A&M and Missouri. They came in from the Big 12 and most thought they would be bottom feeders, but now they’re competing at the top of the SEC. Even Auburn has been down the last couple of years and they’re a top ten team right now. It can be done. It’s very encouraging, and I can’t wait until that’s us in a couple of years.
One of the guys that can really help us do that is Matt Elam. He’s visiting Alabama this weekend (so hopefully they lose to LSU, haha), but he’ll be having a good time and tweeting about it a bunch. He’s a funny guy, and likes to play games with the fans sometimes, so I’m sure he’ll let all the UK fans know he’s having fun. That’s just who he is, he’s very flamboyant. He’s taking his official to UK on December 14 with basically every other UK commitment in the class, so that will be a huge weekend. I still think we’re right there in the driver’s seat. I know he said that Notre Dame caught up to UK and Alabama, but I think we have a good, if not better, shot than any of those other teams. We’re both playing in the Army All-American game, which means we’ll be out there for a whole week to get ready. I’m trying to get it set up so I can room with him to make sure he’s got Kentucky on his mind. Don’t worry, BBN, I’m working the phones!
Aside from Matt, there’s still room for a few more players in the class. We’re finished with every other position except for offensive line. The one player I really want is Marcelys Jones. Right now he’s committed to Ohio State, but I know he’s taking his official visit to UK December 14, which is the same weekend as Matt and almost all of the 2014 commitments. He’s Ohio State right now, but he visited UK one time this summer while he was committed to Ohio State and is really close to Darius West and Coach Marrow too, so those are the two guys we’re trying to finish up the class with.
It’s hard to believe there are only a few months until I’m at UK. Before then, I’ve got a lot to do. I’m planning on making it to the State Championship, which is the first weekend in December, and then there’s 20 days left until I graduate from school. I’m just going to hang out with my friends, enjoy my time with them, start studying for UK, and work out and stuff. It’s definitely exciting but I’m trying to wrap up my high school win with a State Championship, so that’s the main goal right now.
Talk to you guys later and Go Cats!
With my family on Senior Night[/caption]
Coach Stoops and Coach Brown came to my senior night a few weeks ago. I’m not allowed to talk to them while they’re visiting, but during the game, I had a 70-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, and I looked over and saw Coach Stoops do a fist pump, which was pretty funny. He was pretty fired up, which was really cool. Later on, they called and told me they were really excited and that I played really well. They liked my quick release, accuracy, audibles at the line, and my escapability or making something out of nothing. Overall, they said they were really impressed and can’t wait for me get there in January.
[caption id="attachment_143867" align="alignnone" width="500"] Photo by Scott Davis[/caption]
Of course, I’ve been keeping a close eye on the Cats this season. They’ve had some unfortunate breaks at quarterback with both Jalen and Maxwell going through injuries. That definitely makes it hard not just on the quarterback, but the team as a whole since you have to be comfortable with two quarterbacks instead of just one. It’s been tough, but they’re doing the best they can and honestly, we’ve been in some tight games. The South Carolina game was just unfortunate because Jalen had a great game, we just got the offense started a little too late. The Mississippi State game was really tough, we had some tough breaks, and just a lot of things that didn’t go our way. Obviously the Alabama State game was one we should have won, and we did. I’m looking forward to watching them play Missouri this week because they’re a top-ranked team and have played very well this season. I know Jalen’s back in there as the starter, and like I said, the team is probably more comfortable knowing he’s the primary guy, so I’m looking forward to seeing the result on Saturday.
I’ll admit, it’s tough to watch the games and not picturing myself as the quarterback. As any kid does when they’re watching the game, I wish that was me. I’m taking it one day at a time and trying to focus on getting my high school team to a State Championship. Next year, nothing’s guaranteed, so I’m gonna go in there, work hard and show them my work ethic. They’re going to play the person they think puts the team in a position to win, and if that happens to be me, that’s great, but if it doesn’t, I’m going to work hard every single day and do the best on the scout team, redshirt, whatever will make the team better.
One thing I’ve noticed about the team this season is the losing mentality is gone. It just shows recruits and fans how much respect the players have for the coaches. It shows them that they don’t want their coaches to have the disappointment of the loss and will go and fight a battle every single week for them. That’s honestly a big reason we’re having such success in recruiting, too. You can tell these coaches want a winner, and confidence breeds confidence, and they’re confident. It’s kind of like a disease. Once one person has it, it starts spreading and catches on like wildfire. I love the new attitude this coaching staff has brought to the program.
It’s great to see Coach Stoops get fired up on the sidelines, too. When he was at my game a few weeks ago, he was getting pumped up and you can tell he really loves the game. When you see him going off on the refs on the sidelines, it shows how much he cares about his players and his team and the respect he has in them. He’s putting it all on the line, and it shows the players that he has their back and won’t give up on them. Some coaches will recruit you and act completely different when you go there and start playing. You can tell Coach Stoops has that same fire and passion on the field that he does off the field. That’s just awesome to see, and very encouraging.
[caption id="attachment_144914" align="alignnone" width="426"] Photo by Scott-DavisPhotography.com[/caption]
That’s another reason the 2014 class can’t wait to get on campus. I thought it was funny, after the first couple of games, everyone was like “Oh, they’ll have three or four decommitments by the end of the season” and we haven’t even had one. I don’t think we’re going to have one at all, because we’re all already like brothers. I saw the quote from Matt Elam when he said he has the best relationship with the UK recruits of anybody. We’re all just like a family. We don’t just talk football. If anyone’s struggling or going through something, they can count on us and we’ll be there for them. We’ve got each other’s back and it’s really unique. You don’t see that at any other schools at all. You visit some schools and there are like five or six dudes that are close, but not all 25. I think it’s just really cool. It takes a special kind of person to commit to a school coming off a two-win season. A lot of us have offers from top ten teams, but we choose to go to UK because we know that these coaches are going to win. You can already tell from this year, we’ve been in some tight games and they haven’t given up. It’s possible. Just look at Texas A&M and Missouri. They came in from the Big 12 and most thought they would be bottom feeders, but now they’re competing at the top of the SEC. Even Auburn has been down the last couple of years and they’re a top ten team right now. It can be done. It’s very encouraging, and I can’t wait until that’s us in a couple of years.
One of the guys that can really help us do that is Matt Elam. He’s visiting Alabama this weekend (so hopefully they lose to LSU, haha), but he’ll be having a good time and tweeting about it a bunch. He’s a funny guy, and likes to play games with the fans sometimes, so I’m sure he’ll let all the UK fans know he’s having fun. That’s just who he is, he’s very flamboyant. He’s taking his official to UK on December 14 with basically every other UK commitment in the class, so that will be a huge weekend. I still think we’re right there in the driver’s seat. I know he said that Notre Dame caught up to UK and Alabama, but I think we have a good, if not better, shot than any of those other teams. We’re both playing in the Army All-American game, which means we’ll be out there for a whole week to get ready. I’m trying to get it set up so I can room with him to make sure he’s got Kentucky on his mind. Don’t worry, BBN, I’m working the phones!
Aside from Matt, there’s still room for a few more players in the class. We’re finished with every other position except for offensive line. The one player I really want is Marcelys Jones. Right now he’s committed to Ohio State, but I know he’s taking his official visit to UK December 14, which is the same weekend as Matt and almost all of the 2014 commitments. He’s Ohio State right now, but he visited UK one time this summer while he was committed to Ohio State and is really close to Darius West and Coach Marrow too, so those are the two guys we’re trying to finish up the class with.
It’s hard to believe there are only a few months until I’m at UK. Before then, I’ve got a lot to do. I’m planning on making it to the State Championship, which is the first weekend in December, and then there’s 20 days left until I graduate from school. I’m just going to hang out with my friends, enjoy my time with them, start studying for UK, and work out and stuff. It’s definitely exciting but I’m trying to wrap up my high school win with a State Championship, so that’s the main goal right now.
Talk to you guys later and Go Cats!
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