Jay Barker

{{Short description|American gridiron football player (born 1972)}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Jay Barker

| image =

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption =

| number =

| position = Quarterback

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|7|20|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 3

| weight_lbs = 220

| high_school = Hewitt-Trussville {{nowrap|(Trussville, Alabama)}}

| college = Alabama

| draftyear = 1995

| draftround = 5

| draftpick = 160

| pastteams =

Green Bay Packers ({{nfly|1995}})*
New England Patriots ({{nfly|1995}})
Carolina Panthers ({{nfly|1996}})
Toronto Argonauts ({{cfly|1998}}–{{cfly|2001}})
Birmingham Thunderbolts (2001)

| highlights =

}}

Harry Jerome "Jay" Barker (born July 20, 1972){{Cite web |date=January 16, 2022 |title=Sara Evans' estranged husband arrested after reported domestic assault in Nashville |url=https://fox17.com/news/local/sara-evans-estranged-husband-arrested-after-domestic-assault-in-nashville |website=FOX17.com}} is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he won a national championship in 1992 and earned third-team All-American honors in 1994. After his playing career, he became a Birmingham radio personality.

Football career

Barker attended Hewitt-Trussville High School in Trussville, Alabama, where his football career began. He graduated in 1990.

Barker played college football at the University of Alabama, under head coach Gene Stallings. In the final game of the 1992 season, Barker led the Crimson Tide to a national championship by defeating the #1 Miami Hurricanes, 34–13, in the 1993 Sugar Bowl. In the 1994 season, Barker won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and finished fifth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy.{{cite web|url=http://www.heisman.com/winners/r-salaam94.html |title=1994 - 60th Award |publisher=heisman.com |access-date=December 6, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014215619/http://www.heisman.com/winners/r-salaam94.html |archive-date=October 14, 2008 }} 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.

{{NFL predraft

| height ft = 6

| height in = 2 3/8

| weight = 212

| dash = 4.94

| ten split = 1.77

| twenty split = 2.86

| shuttle = 4.31

| vertical = 27.0

| arm span = 31 5/8

| hand span = 10

}}

Barker was drafted in the 1995 NFL draft in the fifth round by the Green Bay Packers, but did not make the team.{{Cite web |title=1995 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1995/draft.htm |access-date=March 31, 2023 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} Subsequently, Barker was on the roster of the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers, but never played in a regular season game.

In 1998, the Toronto Argonauts signed Barker, bringing him to the Canadian Football League.{{cite web| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/barker-bolts-argos-for-xfl-1.289737| title=Barker bolts Argos for XFL| publisher=CBC| date=January 8, 2001| access-date=December 6, 2008}}

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, and formerly an on-air personality for WJOX in Birmingham. Both he and Al Del Greco, a former Auburn placekicker, 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.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

In 2008, Barker married American country musician Sara Evans.{{cite web| url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/16/arts/People-Sara-Evans.php| title=Sara Evans has married former Alabama quarterback| work=International Herald Tribune| publisher=Associated Press| date=June 16, 2008| access-date=December 6, 2008}}{{dead link|date=April 2024}} They lived in Mountain Brook, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham with his four children and Evans' three children.{{Cite web |date=January 27, 2003 |title=Sara Evans Welcomes Daughter |url=http://www.cmt.com/news/1459709/sara-evans-welcomes-daughter/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118200722/http://www.cmt.com/news/1459709/sara-evans-welcomes-daughter/ |archive-date=January 18, 2015 |access-date=October 2, 2007 |publisher=CMT}}

On January 15, 2022, Barker was arrested on domestic violence charges after he allegedly tried to hit Evans and another individual with his car. The report also indicated that Barker and Evans are currently separated.{{cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2022/01/16/ex-alabama-qb-jay-barker-whos-married-to-country-star-sara-evan-charged-with-domestic-violence/|title=Ex-Alabama QB Jay Barker charged with domestic violence

|author=Patrick Reilly|date=January 16, 2022|publisher=New York Post|accessdate=January 16, 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.al.com/news/2022/01/jay-barker-former-alabama-quarterback-married-to-sara-evans-arrested-for-domestic-violence.html|title=Jay Barker, former Alabama quarterback, reportedly tried to hit wife Sara Evans with vehicle|author=Carol Robinson|date=January 15, 2022|publisher=Alabama.com|accessdate=January 16, 2022}} Evans filed for divorce in August 2021 citing "irreconcilable differences and inappropriate marital conduct”.{{cite web|url=https://www.scoopnashville.com/2022/01/sara-evans-filed-for-divorce-prior-to-jay-barkers-arrest-for-attempting-to-run-over-her-with-a-vehicle/|title=Sara Evans Filed for Divorce Prior to Jay Barker's Arrest for Attempting to Run Over Her with a Vehicle|author=Jason Steen|date=January 16, 2022|publisher=Scoop Nashville|accessdate=January 16, 2022}}

In March 2024 Evans and Barker announced they had reconciled.{{cite web |title= Why Sara Evans Is Asking for 'Benefit of the Doubt' After Reconciling with Husband: 'People Are Going to Be Mad' |last1=DeSantis |first1=Rachel |url=https://people.com/sara-evans-benefit-of-doubt-reconciling-jay-barker-exclusive-8612361 |date=March 22, 2024}}

Barker's daughter, Sarah Ashlee, played college basketball for two seasons with the Georgia Lady Bulldogs before transferring to Alabama, where she played three more years. In her final collegiate game, Sarah Ashlee scored an Alabama record 45 points in a double overtime loss to Maryland on March 24, 2025 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

References

Category:1972 births

Category:Living people

Category:American football quarterbacks

Category:American radio personalities

Category:Alabama Crimson Tide football players

Category:Alabama Republicans

Category:Birmingham Thunderbolts players

Category:Canadian football quarterbacks

Category:Carolina Panthers players

Category:Green Bay Packers players

Category:New England Patriots players

Category:Toronto Argonauts players

Category:People from Mountain Brook, Alabama

Category:Sportspeople from Jefferson County, Alabama

Category:People from Trussville, Alabama

Category:Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama

Category:Players of Canadian football from Birmingham, Alabama