Transfer Tracker: UCF adds explosive WKU DE
Mark Pszonak contributed to this report.
The transfer portal never stops grinding. Western Kentucky defensive lineman Ricky Barber Jr. did not spend too long in the portal with a commitment coming on Wednesday to UCF.
*****
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals100
RIVALS TRANSFER TRACKER: Stories/coverage | Message board
RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Info/coverage on 2021 camp series
*****
Recruiting: After also receiving offers from Purdue, Indiana, Cincinnati, Yale and Eastern Kentucky, Barber committed to Western Kentucky during his senior season.
At Western Kentucky: As a true freshman, Barber redshirted, but played in four games and totaled seven tackles and one sack. In 2020, Barber started all 12 games for the Hilltoppers, finishing with 51 tackles, six tackles for a loss and four sacks. He earned several freshman All-American honors after the season.
Farrell’s Take: Barber has been an outstanding player in his short time at Western Kentucky and has played well beyond expectations. He’s active with a great motor and he can push the pocket as well as chase down. UCF has been on fire in the portal and this is one of their better gets.
Impact Meter: 7.9 out of 10
IMPACT METER
The Transfer Portal continues to change the way college football programs recruit and manage their rosters so we here at Rivals.com continue to evolve our coverage. Each time a player of note enters the portal, we will examine their potential impact on the college football landscape and assign an impact rating, both when they enter the portal and when they choose a destination. The scale is from 1-10 and the description below explains the scoring scale.
1.1-4.0 — Not a big impact expected, likely a non-starter and down the bench depth player.
4.1- 6.0 — A solid impact can be expected in the right scenario and has the potential to battle for a starting job.
6.1-9.0. — A high impact player who won’t change a program but will certainly be a very good contributor and starter.
9.1- 9.9 — A very high impact player who should start the moment he steps on the field and will change the outlook of a program immediately.
10 — A franchise transfer who has a chance to be an All American and one of the elite players in college football.