DT Barber ready to show he has much more to give in final season
UCF’s first football season in the Big 12 didn’t meet many people’s expectations.
It was particularly challenging for Ricky Barber, the Knights’ defensive tackle who struggled with an undisclosed injury throughout the season. Despite his best efforts, the 6-foot-3, 295-pound redshirt senior finished with career lows in tackles (18), tackles in loss (2), sacks (1.5) and quarterback hurries (2).
“Looking back on the season, I realized I couldn’t give my all,” said Barber. “I played as hard as possible for my team, but it wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t healthy.”
Instead of leaving school and pursuing a possible NFL career, Barber decided to return to UCF for his final season of eligibility.
“I knew I had to come back and reprove myself to myself and show the city of Orlando and Knight Nation I have more to offer,” he said. “This final year is just going back and reproving myself. [This offseason] I’m working to be as healthy as possible and taking my training to the next level.”
Struggling with not being 100% throughout much of the season was difficult, and Barber learned to lean on his coaches and family to get him through the tough times.
“I don’t think people realized the mental aspect of football and not being able to play at your best or at all. It takes a toll on you,” Barber said. “I’m just glad I had a great support system.”
UCF found transitioning from the American Athletic Conference to the Big 12 difficult. The Knights suffered a five-game losing streak to open conference play before winning three of their final four games to become bowl-eligible.
The defense struggled to adapt and finished last in the conference in rushing defense, allowing 195 yards per game on the ground and 26 rushing touchdowns.
“I went into the Big 12 thinking it was more of a passing league, but I realized they run the ball a lot,” said Barber. “We learned you’ll play a top offensive line every week. Everyone we play pretty much had a guy who’s a first-round or top-three [NFL pick].
“Coming from the American, offensive linemen are much smaller because of recruiting. That is why the weight room is so important to play against those big offensive linemen.”
The size difference was apparent with the average Big 12 offensive line that UCF faced averaging 6-4, 313 pounds. The lines the Knights faced in their 2023 AAC final year averaged 6-4, 305 pounds.
Calling last season’s 6-7 record “unacceptable,” coach Gus Malzahn changed the coaching staff, bringing in longtime defensive coordinator Ted Roof and hiring Anthony Kincy to head the program’s strength and conditioning program.
“[A] 6-7 [season] is definitely embarrassing. It’s not something I ever thought I would do in college football,” said Barber. “Honestly, I’ve never really had a losing season like that. We have work to do to fix it, and I feel like right now we’re taking the steps toward it.”
Barber’s decision to return, along with those of running back RJ Harvey, receiver Kobe Hudson and offensive linemen Marcellus Marshall, Amari Kight and Adrian Medley, spells good things for UCF’s chances for the 2024 season.
Even though the Knights return just 49% of their production from last season, ranking them 101st in the Football Bowl Subdivision based on ESPN’s Bill Connelly, the defense returns 60%, headlined by the return of six starters, including Barber.
The unit also added nine defensive transfers and seven high school signees to its 2024 recruiting class.
“We have work to do,” Barber said about the upcoming season. “We’re just focusing on taking over games. Instead of splash plays, it’s about taking over full games from start to finish.”
Barber looks forward to returning to the field and being 100%. He believes the Knights have the potential to put together a bounce-back season in 2024.
“We’re going to be way better. We bring back just about everybody,” he said. “That means we didn’t have any fall-off and can build off what we already had. [We need to] establish ourselves as one of the better teams.
“Last year, we had some ups and downs, but this year, we hope to piece it all together and establish who we are in the Big 12.”