- October 9, 2021
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Former Dothan standout Jabre Barber works upfield during Saturday’s Trojan win over Southern Miss. Barber caught four passes, including his first career touchdown in the game.
Barber
The touchdown catch by former Dothan High player Jabre Barber well displayed the athletic ability of the second-year Troy receiver.
It was the first drive of the second half with the Trojans trailing at Southern Mississippi 3-0 when quarterback Taylor Powell escaped heavy pressure on 3rd-and-4, rolled to his left and spotted Barber open at the Golden Eagles’ 17-yard line.
As Barber made the catch near the sidelines and began sprinting, three defenders converged on him. The first two couldn’t quite get to Barber and the third dove at him trying to make a tackle at the 4.
Barber lowered his head and dove for the end zone, just crossing the goal line for the first touchdown of his college career en route to what would become a 21-9 Troy victory Saturday night.
A replay review was needed to confirm Barber had achieved the touchdown.
“I knew I was in,” Barber said with a smile on Tuesday. “I was very excited. I couldn’t do it without my team – the execution by my O-line, the quarterback found me.”
Troy head coach Chip Lindsey certainly liked what he saw from Barber, who was named Troy’s Offensive Player of the Week.
“He had a big-time touchdown catch and run there, diving into the end zone,” Lindsey said. “He’s continuing to improve and getting better and better. He also had couple of other catches as well. That was exciting to see for sure.”
For the game, Barber caught four passes for 46 yards. As a starting wide receiver this year, Barber has seven receptions for 61 yards. A year ago as a true freshman, Barber appeared in three games with all of his action coming on special teams.
“You know, he was a running back all the way through high school until his last year when he turned into a slot receiver, which is when we saw him in 7-on-7 camp down here on campus and we thought he was really talented,” Lindsey said.
“He’s got a running back skill-set when he catches the ball. A lot of running backs previously who haven’t caught it a lot don’t have that. He’s continuing to learn to become a more polished wide receiver. He showed the other night he’s got the ability to really make people miss and make big time plays.”
As a senior at Dothan High in 2019, Barber caught 50 passes for 789 yards and six touchdowns along with rushing the ball 36 times for 136 yards and six scores.
He’s now getting more comfortable on the college level.
“I have learned a lot from Coach (John, inside receivers coach) Carr and the other receivers around me,” Barber said. “Coming from high school, I wasn’t really too much of a wide receiver.
“I’m very comfortable now. I’m getting the feeling of it and learning the offense better. They’re just putting me where I want to be and I’m just going to keep on working to help the team.”
As Barber’s confidence continues to grow, Lindsey’s confidence in the receiver is growing along with it.
“It’s a big deal for him to step up and become one of the guys we can count on,” Lindsey said. “I think the other night kind of got him going a little bit. He’s may be over some of the nerves now and hopefully he’ll continue to keep getting better and better.”
Player of the Week: Troy linebacker Javon Solomon was named the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week after recording nine tackles – five for loss – along with 3 ½ sacks as the Trojans held Southern Miss to 156 yards of offense.
“It wasn’t a shock to us, because we knew what we can do and we knew that’s how we were going to do it,” Solomon said of the success over USM. “Preparation all week set up for a great night like that.”
Troy had many of the same players in place last year on defense, but it looks like almost a completely different unit this year. The 684 combined yards the team has allowed over three games is the fewest allowed by a Troy team since 2000 and the second fewest in Sun Belt history. The 27 points allowed through three games is the fewest for a Trojans’ team since 1997.
“I feel like we had it last year, now we’re just trying to mold it together,” Solomon said. “Our coaches put a lot of pressure on us and forced us to want to do better. Last year if you look at it, so many guys were making so many plays, but we were just a little off. Now we’re trying to close those gaps.”
TV for SEC foe: Troy’s non-conference football game at South Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 2, will be televised on the SEC Network and is slated for a 2:30 p.m. (CT) kickoff from Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C.
Troy at ULM
Malone Stadium
7 p.m. Saturday
TV: ESPN+
Radio: 560 AM, 94.7 FM, 101.1 FM
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Former Dothan standout Jabre Barber works upfield during Saturday’s Trojan win over Southern Miss. Barber caught four passes, including his first career touchdown in the game.
Barber
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