Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky Football: Drew Barker Ready For Next Challenge

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Drew Barker is ready for the next challenge. Kentucky football will need him to be when it faces the Florida Gators.

The Kentucky Wildcats have built a young and promising team with the potential to achieve greatness. That potential was flashed in Week 1, with Drew Barker putting forth a sensational first-half performance.

Following what was an abysmal second half of football, however, many feared that Barker wouldn’t be able to mentally recover.

Barker finished the game against Southern Miss with 323 passing yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. All four of those touchdowns were thrown in the first half, however, as Kentucky posted a goose egg in the second half.

According to Jon Hale of The Courier-Journal, Barker is compartmentalizing and moving on from the loss.

“You can never say it’s gone, but we really just moved on,” sophomore quarterback Drew Barker said. “We know we lost, we know there’s nothing we can do to change it, so we might as well just not sit there and sulk about it. We might as well just come out here and work.”

That’s the perfect mentality for Barker to have.

All things considered, Barker had an outstanding first full-time start for the Wildcats. He was precise and methodical during the first half as he trusted his playmakers and made all the right throws.

Though he lost control in the second half, co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw loves what he’s seeing from Barker in the days since the loss to Southern Miss.

“His attitude is unbelievable,” Hinshaw said. “He’s working his butt off.”

That’s a critical development.

Barker and the Wildcats will continue the season against the Florida Gators in Week 2. That trip to Gainesville will be an overwhelming challenge that will test just how ready Barker is to help Kentucky contend.

He’ll need to be at his best against Florida.

Kentucky hasn’t defeated Florida since 1986. 29 consecutive losses is a devastating streak, which Barker and the Wildcats have a chance to end on Saturday, September 10.

The biggest start of Barker’s career is on the horizon.

Hinshaw believes his starting quarterback is developing the right mentality to get the job done.