Feature stories on UST's Jake Barkley

October 3, 2000
St. Thomas sophomore running back Jake Barkley ranks among the leaders in NCAA Division III rushing, averaging 166.8 yards a game.

Here are two feature stories written on Jake prior to last Saturday's game with St. John's -- the first is by KFAN intern David Meyer, and the other was written by UST sports information director Gene McGivern.

The Toms (2-2 overall, 2-1 MIAC) play next Saturday at Augsburg in a 1 p.m. kickoff.

see KFAN website feature on Jake here

Holy Trettel! Who is this Jake Barkley?

By GENE McGIVERN
ST. Thomas SID

It's OK to admit it. You follow St. Thomas and MIAC football closely, yet you knew little or nothing about him.

Who's Jake Barkley?

Holy Trettel, you mean there's a guy in a Tommie football jersey racking up -- get this, not passing or receiving yards -- but rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.

Is he a U of M transfer? Another Kaiser brother? Steve Aronson is shoulder pads? Is this the kid who almost made the Olympics for the Marshall Islands?

To get you up to speed on this speedy guy, here's your personal Jake Barkley press conference:

Q: Just give me the facts on Jake's college totals.
A: In the classroom, the sophomore halfback has a 3.90 gpa in Entreprenuership and sees himself working in sales for awhile and eventually pursuing an MBA. On the field, as a freshman in 1999, he rushed 83 times for 365 yards with two TDs and also caught 20 passes for 294 yards. This season in three games he has 530 rushing yards, 46 receiving yards and six touchdowns. In 13 career games, that's 895 rushing yards and 340 receiving yards and eight TDs.

Q: How did Jake end up at St. Thomas?
A: Don't tell the St. John's fans that his sister, Jessica is a 1999 St. Ben's graduate. Jake had some exceptional teammates in the backfield at Robbinsdale Armstrong as a two-year starting fullback. Fellow Falcon RB Stevon Ray is now at Rochester Community College and being recruited by the likes of Ohio State. But when Barkley got his chance as the primary back late in his career, he combined to rush for 396 yards with five TDs in back-to-back games vs. rival Cooper.

Q: What other universities did he look at?
A: Did we mention that Jake was a good student, too? He was valedictorian in a class of 496 at Armstrong. He received an appointment to the Air Force Academy, and also was contacted for football by Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Dartmouth. He probably didn't have the right connections for the Ivy league, but he has no regrets about being at St. Thomas. "It would have been nice to get admitted to those schools, but I'm glad things have worked out because I love St. Thomas," Jake explained. "I picked St. Thomas for its Business school. This is a good place to be a student and have fun playing football."

Q: Any reason Jake is off to such a fast start in 2000?
A: With five new starters from tackle to tackle on the UST offensive line, including four sophomores and a junior who used to play defense, the UST rushing success has been interesting. Coach Roney said Jake has benefited from the Toms' deep corps of running backs, led by seniors Marcus Lutdke and Mike Westland and fellow sophomore Phil Remes. "We think we have six very good running backs," UST coach Don Roney said. "That helps give Jake some breathers and gives us some guys who can test a defense in different ways. Marcus sees things very well and is a patient runner, and Phil is a guy who will really come at you. Jake is a hard worker. He came in this summer and looked at some old films of (ex-UST All-American halfback) Gary Trettel. Like Jake, Gary wasn't really tall, but he had such great feet. Last year I think Jake wanted to run over people. Now he's starting to make people miss."

Q: What else does Coach Roney like about Jake?
A: On top of football and being valedictorian, Barkley built his own lawn service business as a teenager and even had two employees. "He's obviously a guy with a lot of energy," Roney said.

Q: Is this a guy who could be playing Division I or II football?
A: The 5-8 frame notwithstanding, Barkley has big-time speed, heart and smarts. As Roney says, "We have a lot of kids like Jake at St. Thomas and in the MIAC. They are here to get an education but they are especially exciting to watch on Saturdays. They have fun competing at a high level in college football. Jake is awfully strong and explosive. We knew we were getting someone special, but I think he is surprising people. "

--Gene McGivern