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Barber is 'on the money'

Incoming punter proves he's more than capable of living up to expectations

Updated: February 12, 2012, 4:49 PM ET
By David Ching | DawgNation
ATHENS, Ga. -- From his office window at Georgia's football complex, Mark Richt could see that someone was punting on the nearby practice fields, but not who was doing the punting.

Judging by the loft and hang time, Richt thought the kicks were those of Bulldogs senior Drew Butler, who in 2009 was named college football's best punter. When Richt ventured down to the field and discovered it was a high school player, it didn't take long for him to offer Collin Barber (Cartersville, Ga./Cartersville), Class of 2012, a football scholarship.

"My last five or six punts, Coach Richt had run out there, and he was standing by my stepdad, and I was punting from the 30, 35, 40 and dropping them on the goal line. I was just killing them," Barber said. "He didn't know it was my stepdad at the time and he said, 'Those kind of kicks make the hair on the back of your neck stand up,' and my stepdad was like, 'Yeah, that's my stepson.' After that, Coach Richt saw what I was capable of."

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David Ching | email

Reporter, DawgNation
  • Reporter for DawgNation
  • Covers Georgia Bulldogs sports and recruiting
  • Joined ESPN in 2011

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