[LeeCoUKFan]

'Great trip' to UK pleases 2014 quarterback Barker

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Kentucky had some ground to make up with Drew Barker heading into his unofficial visit on Saturday. On that point, mission accomplished.

The four-star junior quarterback from Conner told Cats Illustrated last week that South Carolina had thoroughly impressed him to that point in the recruiting process. He also said that because the previous UK staff had not aggressively pursued him that he had basically written the Wildcats off.

But when Mark Stoops and his newly-assembled staff surveyed the Class of 2014 there was a consensus: Barker will be an important recruit.

Kentucky hasn't offered yet but offensive coordinator Neal Brown will stop by Conner in the week ahead and things will progress from there.

Barker, a lifelong Kentucky basketball fan, attended UK's game against Texas A&M on Saturday. Did Kentucky narrow the gap on the Gamecocks?

"Definitely," Barker said. "I went in with an open mind and got a feel for what they're like. I really liked them. A big part of my decision is going to be the people that I'm going to be around for the next four or five years."

Barker hopes to make his decision by late April so it was important for UK to make up ground quickly.

He did say that because he's so close to the school he could make frequent weekend trips, so Kentucky's coaches still could have plenty of opportunities to make their case.

On Saturday, Barker was able to spend some time with Mikel Horton, a good friend from the summer, as well as fellow Kentuckian Ryan Timmons.

"We got there a couple of hours early and I met with coach Brown and coach Stoops. I sat in the film room with coach Brown and he basically drew up some plays so I could get the idea of their concepts. He also showed us some film from Texas Tech, basically just to see what it looks like on the field.

"Basically (the offense) is very easy to learn but very hard to stop. There aren't very many plays. Well, there are, but compared to a traditional offense it's pretty simple. It's very effective."

Barker said he feels like he could thrive in the spread or a pro-style but because his offense operates exclusively out of the shotgun he would be especially comfortable in an offense like the one Brown is bringing in.

Stoops and another big figure at UK also had a message for Barker.

"Coach Stoops just told me to make sure I keep coming down and building a relationship with them," Barker said. "He really wants me at UK. I actually also got to talk to Mitch Barnhart, which was pretty cool.

"They just told me they'd really like to see me at Kentucky. They told me about all the renovation plans and told me in detail about that. I thought it was a great trip."

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1459503