WR Barry comes in with winning mindset

Wide receiver Jay Barry Jr., FIU’s newest football recruit, has a connection to a pair of national championship teams — Colorado in 1990 and Washington in 1991.

Barry’s coach at Boulder (Colorado) Fairview High is Tom McCartney, whose father, Bill, coached that Buffaloes team to an 11-1-1 record that included a 10-9 win over Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl.

Barry’s father, Jay Sr., was a running back on the ’91 Huskies, scoring 11 touchdowns that season as Washington went 12-0 and was ranked No. 1 in the coaches’ poll. The Miami Hurricanes, also 12-0 that season, were ranked No. 1 by the Associated Press.

Jay Sr., who was a junior when Washington won that national title, played ahead of freshman Napoleon Kaufman on the depth chart that season. Four years later, Kaufman was a first-round pick.

But Barry, who never played in the NFL, had some big moments in 1991, including an 81-yard touchdown run against Nebraska.

In addition, Jay Jr.’s grandfather, Odell Barry, played 26 games in the NFL for the Denver Broncos from 1964-65.

Jay Jr., who scored eight touchdowns this past season — including a 105-yard interception return and a 95-yard kickoff return — has seen his father’s video highlights.

“It reminds me of me,” Barry said of his father, “the way we move and the jukes we make.”

Jay Jr.’s uncle, Damon Barry, was also on that Huskies team as a wide receiver, and he has served as another role model.

The FIU recruit was a running back in youthleague ball. But he grew from 5-7 to his current height of 6-2 in a span of two years. Because of his growth spurt, he decided to switch to wide receiver as a freshman, and he has since used his uncle as a resource.

“He loves to train me in the offseason,” Barry said. “He knows all the drills needed to play receiver.”

The drills must have worked because Barry caught 39 passes for 523 yards (13.4 average) and five touchdowns in just seven games this past season, leading Fairview to a 6-1 record and a playoff berth. He said he “dropped” just one pass all season — on a pass that was a bit out of reach.

He also scored touchdowns in four different ways, including the receptions, a Wildcat run and the interception and kickoff returns.

He led the state’s Class 5A in kickoff return yardage (292) and interception return yardage (212).

Barry, who has a 3.5 GPA, is interested in studying business or architecture.