| No. 98 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Linebacker |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1968-09-07)September 7, 1968 (age 57) Wichita, Kansas, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 230 lb (104 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Wichita Northwest |
| College | Rice |
| NFL draft | 1992: 10th round, 280th overall pick |
| Career history | |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
Stats atPro Football Reference  | |
Anthony Ray Barker (born September 7, 1968)[1] is an American former professionalfootball player who was alinebacker in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theKansas Jayhawks before transferring to theRice Owls following his sophomore year. He was selected by theWashington Redskins in the 10th round of the1992 NFL draft. He also briefly played for theGreen Bay Packers.
Barker began attending Wichita Northwest High School in Wichita in 1984. While at Northwest, he participated in football,basketball, andshot put/discus intrack and field. However, he gave up basketball after his junior year. As a high school football player, he played offensive tackle, defensive end and punter. In his senior year, he was a 1st Team All-City selection as an offensive tackle, defensive end, and punter, best 11 in the state from Wichita and Topeka newspapers, and honorable mention in the 1986 High School All-American football team voting.
Barker was voted to theWichita Eagle's all-time Wichita High School Football team as a 1st team offensive tackle. Also on that team was formerDetroit Lions Defensive endLawrence Pete (who went toSouth), LinebackersMark (Seattle Seahawks/Indianapolis Colts) andMike Bell (Kansas City Chiefs) (Both went toBishop Carroll), Pro-Football Hall of fame running backBarry Sanders (North), andTennessee Titans LinebackerKamerion Wimbley, who is (like Barker) aNorthwest alumni.
Barker was recruited by multiple Division I programs. Barker's final selection came down to Kansas and Oklahoma State and with encouragement from his parents, he picked Kansas.[2] He was recruited as a defensive end, but while watching film of another recruit, his coaches noticed his speed and decided to switch him to linebacker.
After the 1987 season, head coachBob Valesente was fired andGlen Mason took over. Because of the coaching change, Barker transferred toRice after his sophomore season. ByNCAA regulations he had to beredshirted his junior year. He lettered in football in 1990 and 1991. In 1991, he collected 127 tackles, tied for the fifth highestsingle-season total in team history. That same year, he finished with five interceptions, eighth on the team single-season list. He made the All-Southwest Conference that year and won the Jess Neely Linebacker Award.
| Year | Team | Tckls | Sacks | Ints | FF | FR | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987[3] | Kansas | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1988[3] | Kansas | 70 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1989 | Rice | DNP — Red Shirted | |||||
| 1990[4] | Rice | 44 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1991[5] | Rice | 127 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Total | 252 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 1 | |
After the NFL combine, theCincinnati Bengals andOakland Raiders expressed interest in Barker. Ultimately, he was drafted by the SuperBowl ChampionWashington Redskins in the 10th round (280th overall pick) in the1992 NFL draft.[6]
He signed a 1-year contract worth $110,000, the league minimum at the time, a common occurrence for late-round picks. Barker was released during the preseason, but was eventually re-signed. He also spent a portion of the 1992 season on the Redskins practice squad.[7] As a rookie, he mainly played on special teams, but had two starts atoutside linebacker against theKansas City Chiefs and theSeattle Seahawks. After the season, Barker's contract expired andJoe Gibbs retired. Following Gibbs's retirement,Richie Petitbon took over and chose not to renew Barker's contract.
Barker was reunited with the coach that recruited him at Kansas,Bob Valesente, when theGreen Bay Packers signed him before their 1994 training camp.[8] He was released two days before the first pre-season game.
Barker decided not continue his career, despite several offers from minor league teams and theScottish Claymores ofNFL Europa (then, NFL Europe). He finished his NFL career recording no official statistics, due in part to tackles not being officially recorded until 2001, and eight games played with two starts.
Barker resides in Texas He married his wife in March 2005. He has two children, from a previous marriage and two stepchildren from his wife's previous marriage.