Texas A&M senior wide receiver Jabre Barber has been an Aggie for just over a week but he’s already formed a lofty goal for the upcoming season in College Station.
Barber chose Texas A&M in the NCAA Transfer Portal on Jan. 5. This week he spoke with Carter Karels, the Aggies beat writer for 247Sports, about his plans for the 2024 campaign.
“There is not a guaranteed role. It is about coming in and being your best. I know I am up to compete,” Barber told Karels. “I can be versatile. I can play in the slot, as well as the outside, motion out of the backfield. Or as a wide receiver, motioning over and pulling me to the end to where I can just work as a 1-on-1 player between me and the DB. I can be all over the field, not just in the slot. I can do more than that and show my versatility.”
Barber is 5-foot-10, 174 pounds and was a 2-star prospect coming out of Dothan High School in Alabama. He took a redshirt year in 2020 after appearing in three games at Troy.
Over the last three years, Barber has racked up the statistics for the Trojans. In 32 games, he tallied 132 receptions for 1,674 yards and 10 touchdowns. A majority of those numbers came this past year. During the 2023 season, he recorded 75 catches for 999 yards and 5 scores, just barely falling short of 1K.
“When I got into the locker room and looked at my phone — I am in a group chat with my close buddies. They were telling me, ‘You had 999 yards. You were one yard short.’ I am just like, ‘Whoa, what?'” Barber recalled. “I feel like I can go for 50 catches and I want to get past that 1,000-yard mark. I know I have to put in a lot of work. But I have a lot of belief in myself that I can do that and prove to my quarterback, Conner Weigman, that he can trust me to throw me the ball.”
Barber explained to Karels that associate head coach and running backs coach, Trooper Taylor, made a significant impact in his decision to play home games at Kyle Field.
“Sitting down and talking with the coaches, it started to feel a little bit like home,” Barber said. “The Duke coach, coach Trooper, he talked to me a lot. He made me feel like home a little bit more. So that is what made me a little more comfortable, how they made me feel welcome.”
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