[LeeCoUKFan]

Flooding Barker's mailbox just part of UK's pursuit

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Both Kentucky and South Carolina have made it clear to Drew Barker that he's their number one priority at the quarterback position. This week the Wildcats took the back-and-forth to an entirely new level.

The timing couldn't have been better.

Barker, the nation's No. 153 overall prospect, had just returned from a weekend trip to South Carolina. When he opened the mailbox he was astounded at the amount of mail. And it was from one address.

Kentucky's coaches sent Barker 115 handwritten letters in one day. He announced his surprise on Twitter shortly after it happened.

"When I opened up the mailbox they were rubber-banded up but they started falling out," Barker said. "I was shocked. The first thing I said was, 'Holy crap.' It was just crazy. I've never seen anything like it. I saw a couple of years ago Alabama sent some dude 100 letters but for that to happen to me, it was crazy."

What does he plan on doing with all of that mail?

"I may not be able to get through them all tonight but I'm going to try to go through all of them. I'll have to get some extra hands to help me," Barker said with a laugh. "It's definitely going to be crazy. I save all my letters. I've got boxes downstairs and I save them no matter what. It's crazy. Every single coach on the staff sent me one and then coach (Mark) Stoops sent me about 10."

It was a unique way for Kentucky to take Barker's mind off South Carolina, at least momentarily. The four-star quarterback was in Columbia visiting the football program all weekend.

It wasn't his first time with the Gamecocks but the coaches once again made him feel right at home.

"It was awesome down there," he said. "I had been there so I had pretty much seen everything but this time I wanted to see what the players were like. A lot of people say they have a family atmosphere and I wanted to see what it was really like. I got to hang out with the players and it was definitely a family atmosphere. I also wanted to see practice to see how the coaches interact and all those kinds of things.

"The practice kind of had a laid back tempo. It's hard to explain but the coaches didn't make the players feel uptight. Everybody seemed loose. One player said he thought that's why they're so good. They're not sitting there beating up the players."

Barker will be at Tennessee during the first week in April and immediately after that he will return to Kentucky, not once but twice. He will be in Lexington on April 8 and April 10. That's the week of Conner's spring break so he's taking advantage of his down time.

"I'm gonna try to hang out with the players," he said. "I'm going to call Coach (Neal) Brown and get everything set up. I know they start really early with those morning practices and they want me down there for their meetings. They'll both be all day things."

Kentucky's offensive coordinator speaks with Barker two or three times per week, the quarterback said, and Brown's sincerity is what stands out to him.

He also offered his thoughts on the contrasting personalities and styles of the coaches at Kentucky and South Carolina.


"He's a really great guy," he said. "You can tell some of these guys will talk you up over the phone and you get there and it's like, 'This is not the person who recruited me.' He's definitely not like that at all."


"South Carolina's coaches have been there, done that. They've won 11 games the past three seasons. They're starting to have a winning tradition. At UK I feel like the coaches are young.

"They have that fire. They're trying to get the program turned around really bad. You can definitely sense the vibe that they're very energetic. I wouldn't say it's completely different but there is definitely a difference."

When asked whether he feels like one school has made it more clear than the other that he's a priority, Barker said he couldn't answer the question. Both schools have done a good job of making him feel wanted.

It's worth noting that Barker has stayed in some contact with some of the Ohio natives being recruited by UK that he met on previous trips to Lexington.

And it's also noteworthy that Barker hasn't narrowed his list to Kentucky and South Carolina. Tennessee will get a strong look and Barker said he could visit Ole Miss, Louisville and perhaps another school.

"I'm just hoping these visits I take in the next month really clear things up," he said. "They should make the decision a lot easier. Right now I couldn't tell you where I'm leaning. I'm just hoping when I get these visits done I'll find the right school."

Barker is still planning to announce his decision in late April or early May.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1488140