Jay Barker (born Harry Jerome Barker on July 20, 1972) is a retired professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. He is currently a Birmingham radio personality.

Football career

Barker attended Hewitt-Trussville High School in

Trussville, Alabama Trussville is a city in Jefferson and St. Clair counties in the State of Alabama. It is a suburb of Birmingham and part of the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its population at the 2020 census was 26,123. Geography Trussv ...

, where his football career began. He graduated in 1990. Barker played college football at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

, under head coach

Gene Stallings Eugene Clifton Stallings Jr. (born March 2, 1935) is a retired American football player and coach. He played college football at Texas A&M University (1954–1956), where he was one of the " Junction Boys", and later served as the head coach ...

. In the final game of the 1992 season, Barker led the Crimson Tide to a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

by defeating the #1

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

, 34–13, in the 1993 Sugar Bowl. In the 1994 season, Barker won the

Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award is given annually in the United States to the nation's top upperclassmen quarterback in college football. Candidates are judged on accomplishments on the field as well as on their character, scholastic achieveme ...

and finished fifth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy. Barker led the Crimson Tide to a 35–2–1 record as their starting quarterback, which was the NCAA record for most wins for a college quarterback at that time. However, the official NCAA record book reflects a 27–11 mark due to later forfeiture of games during the

1993 season File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The White House (Moscow), Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Cze ...

. Barker was drafted in the

1995 NFL Draft The 1995 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount T ...

in the fifth round by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

, but did not make the team. Subsequently, Barker was on the roster of the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

and the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

, but never played in a regular season game. In 1998, the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

signed Barker, bringing him to the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

. After three seasons with the Argonauts, Barker left to join the Birmingham Thunderbolts in the XFL. A fan favorite of the Bolts' (generally small) crowds, Barker was the team's second-string quarterback and played several games in the middle of the season before suffering a career-ending concussion late. In contrast to his college career, his time in the XFL saw him oversee the beginning of a seven-game losing streak.

Radio career

Barker is currently an analyst for

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN" ...

, and formerly an on-air personality for WJOX in Birmingham. Both he and

Al Del Greco Albert Louis Del Greco (born March 2, 1962) is a former American football placekicker and a current sports radio personality. After eight years as golf coach at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Alabama, Del Greco was named the head coach of th ...

, a former Auburn

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Sp ...

, hosted the ''Opening Drive'' program on WJOX, along with Tony Kurre until 2018.

Personal life

From 1995 to 2007 he was married to Amy DiGiovanna. The couple has four children. In 2008, Barker married American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...

musician

Sara Evans Sara Lynn Evans (; born February 5, 1971) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is also credited as a record producer, actress, and author. She had five songs reach the number one spot on the '' Billboard'' country songs cha ...

. They live in

Mountain Brook, Alabama Mountain Brook is a city in southeastern Jefferson County, Alabama, United States, and a suburb of Birmingham. Its population at the 2010 census was 20,413. History The city was originally developed in 1929 by real-estate businessman Robert Jemi ...

, a suburb of Birmingham with his four children and Evans' three children. On January 15, 2022, Barker was arrested on domestic violence charges after he allegedly tried to hit his wife, Sara Evans, and another individual, with his car. The report also indicated that Barker and Evans are currently separated. Evans filed for divorce in August 2021 citing "irreconcilable differences and inappropriate marital conduct".

References

External links

Jay Barker
at NFL.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Jay 1972 births Living people American football quarterbacks American radio personalities Players of Canadian football from Birmingham, Alabama Alabama Crimson Tide football players Alabama Republicans Birmingham Thunderbolts players Canadian football quarterbacks Carolina Panthers players Green Bay Packers players New England Patriots players Toronto Argonauts players People from Mountain Brook, Alabama People from Trussville, Alabama Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama