Jay Barker is a former professional American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

, and a current Birmingham radio personality.

Football career

Barker attended Hewitt-Trussville High School

Hewitt-Trussville High School

Hewitt-Trussville High School is a high school located in Trussville, Alabama. The school was named after Robert Hewitt, who was school superintendent in 1869. Hewitt-Trussville has several varsity sports teams, including baseball, football, basketball, soccer, golf, wrestling, cross-country,...

 in Trussville, Alabama

Trussville, Alabama

Trussville is a city in Jefferson and St. Clair counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population was 19,933 at the 2010 census. Trussville was ranked as number 56 out of 100 in Money Magazines Best Places to Live 2005.-Geography:...

, where his football career began. He graduated in 1990.

Barker played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at the University of Alabama

University of Alabama

The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....

, under head coach Gene Stallings

Gene Stallings

Eugene Clifton Stallings, Jr. is a former American football player and coach. He played college football at Texas A&M University , where he was one of the "Junction Boys", and later served as the head coach at his alma mater from 1965 to 1971. Stallings was also the head coach of the St...

. In the final game of the 1992 season

1992 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

The 1992 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 1992 college football season. This was the team's third season under head coach Gene Stallings. They played their home games at both Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Legion Field in Birmingham,...

, Barker led the Crimson Tide to a National Championship

NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship

A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...

 by defeating the #1 Miami Hurricanes

Miami Hurricanes football

The Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...

 34–13 in the 1993 Sugar Bowl

1993 Sugar Bowl

The 1993 Sugar Bowl took place on January 1, 1993, in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. It served as the final game and the National Championship of the 1992–93 college football season. The game featured two unbeaten teams in the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Miami Hurricanes...

. In the 1994 season

1994 NCAA Division I-A football season

The 1994 NCAA Division I-A football season saw yet another controversial finish as both Nebraska and Penn State finished undefeated, and yet Penn State finished a distant second in the final AP and UPI polls. The controversial finish, however, could have been an even worse morass if not for some...

, Barker won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award

Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award

The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award is given annually in the United States to the nation's outstanding senior quarterback in college football. It was established in 1987 by a foundation named for Johnny Unitas , the Hall of Fame quarterback who played his college career at the University of...

 and finished 5th in the voting for the Heisman Trophy

Heisman Trophy

The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...

. Barker led the Crimson Tide

Alabama Crimson Tide football

|TeamName = Alabama football |Image = Alabama Crimson Tide Logo.svg |ImageSize = 110 |Helmet = Alabama Football.png |ImageSize2 = 150 |CurrentSeason = 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide football team...

 to a 35-2-1 record as their starting QB (the official NCAA record book reflects a 27–11 mark due to later forfeiture of games during the 1993 season

1993 NCAA Division I-A football season

The 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Florida State crowned national champions, but not without controversy.Under the Bowl Coalition, undefeated Big 8 champ and #2 ranked Nebraska hosted ACC champ and #1 ranked Florida State in the Orange Bowl...

).

Barker was drafted in the 1995 NFL Draft

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 Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City...

 in the fifth round by the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

. During his NFL career, he also played for the New England Patriots

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

 and the Carolina Panthers

Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...

.

In 1998, the Toronto Argonauts

Toronto Argonauts

The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...

 signed Barker, bringing him to the Canadian Football League

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

.

After three seasons with the Argonauts, Barker left to join the Birmingham Thunderbolts

Birmingham Thunderbolts

The Birmingham Thunderbolts were a short-lived springtime American football team based in Birmingham, Alabama. This team was part of the failed XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States.-The only season:The Thunderbolts...

 in the XFL

XFL

The XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...

. The XFL folded after just one season.

Radio career

Barker is currently an analyst for ESPN Radio

ESPN Radio

ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...

, and an on-air personality for WJOX in Birmingham. Both he and Al Del Greco

Al Del Greco

Albert Louis Del Greco is a former American football placekicker and a current sports radio personality and high school coach in Birmingham, Alabama.-Biography:...

, a former Auburn

Auburn Tigers football

Only Mohamed Amin Abughadir set the record with 1,890 yards in 1 season. He was the QB for Auburn in 1998.The Auburn Tigers football team represents Auburn University in college football as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing in the Western Division of the...

 placekicker

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

, host the Opening Drive program on WJOX, along with Tony Kurre.

Personal

Throughout his career at Alabama, Barker was known for his Christian

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 faith.

Barker is married to American country

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 music star Sara Evans

Sara Evans

Sara Lynn Evans is an American country singer and songwriter.Evans was one of the few traditional-styled singers to emerge from Nashville in the late 1990s, according to Allmusic. Since emerging in the late 1990s, Evans has made five No. 1 Country hits and Gold and Platinum-certified albums by...

. Together, they have seven children—all from previous relationships. They live in Mountain Brook, Alabama

Mountain Brook, Alabama

Mountain Brook is a city in southeastern Jefferson County, Alabama, and a suburb of Birmingham. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,821. Mountain Brook is a particularly affluent city within the Birmingham metropolitan area and has appeared in several lists...

, a suburb of Birmingham.

External links

• Jay Barker at NFL.com