Kentucky Football: Quarterback Drew Barker Not Likely to Play in Spring Game
This Friday, April 14th, Kentucky football will participate in their annual Spring game. This game will give fans a preview of what to expect this coming season. One player fans will not see is Quarterback, Drew Barker, who’s been ruled unlikely to play.
Last season, Drew Barker had his season cut short due to a back injury sustained against New Mexico State. Back-up junior college transfer Stephen Johnson came in and led Kentucky football to their first bowl game in five seasons. Johnson was 6-4 while at the helm, scoring 16 total touchdowns and only throwing six interceptions.
Drew Barker was a highly-touted 4-star recruit coming out of high school. Fans’ expectations of Barker changing the program have led to disappointment thus far. In six career starts, Barker threw five touchdowns, four of them coming against Southern Mississippi. Also, he threw seven interceptions, which leads to a 5-7 TD-INT ratio, an underwhelming stat line for starting QB.
On the other hand, we as Kentucky fans have a small sample size concerning Barker’s play. He has shown flashes of brilliance as a pocket passer, which makes it hard to count him out. Offensive Coordinator Darin Hinshaw told reporters that they will most likely be holding Drew Barker, to avoid any setbacks.
Darin Hinshaw says the plan is to hold Drew Barker out of the spring game to avoid any setbacks.
— Jon Hale (@JonHale_HL) April 11, 2017
Stephen Johnson led the Wildcats to their first bowl game since 2010, so he seems as the favorite for the No. 1 spot. Barker will be looking to come back from his injury in late spring, as well as Gunnar Hoak and Danny Clark fighting for a spot. It will be interesting to see who comes out of this competition, each quarterback excelling at different styles of play.
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The Spring Game will be held at Commonwealth Stadium at 7:30 PM. The SEC Network will televise the live scrimmage. News concerning Kentucky Football is sure to come in the near future. There is a lot to be excited about in the upcoming season.