Walk-on works way into scholarship
TODD TRAUBARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
JONESBORO -- A quick glance around the state on NCAA national football signing days reveals a curious trend.
Rarely, if ever, does the name of a Cabot High School player appear on anyone's list of signees. The Panthers are the defending Class AAAAA state champions, have been to the title game three of the past four years and have won more games (56) in the past five years than any other large school.
Yet when signing day rolled around this year, once again, no Cabot player signed a letter of intent -- not at the NCAA Division I, the I-AA or the Division II level.
But somebody from Cabot was earning a scholarship.
At the end of spring practice, Arkansas State walk-on Curtis Barfield was granted a scholarship by the Indians after a year of hard-nosed special teams play.
"It's a great feeling," Barfield said. "It's great to know that you came out here and played with the best and earned your spot. All these other guys out here, they all recognize that I worked as hard as I did. It just makes you feel good."
A safety converted to linebacker, Barfield, 5-10, 195 pounds, is the first Cabot player to earn a Division I scholarship since offensive tackle Ray Straschinske signed with Arkansas in 1989. That same year, center John Garner and tight end Greg Hughes signed with ASU, then a I-AA member.
"He's a very tough kid mentally and physically," ASU Coach Joe Hollis said of Barfield. "He won the respect of his teammates, had a great spring after we moved him to linebacker. He's a little undersized, obviously. We awarded him a scholarship because it's deserved."
Barfield appeared in seven games in 2000 and registered two unassisted tackles. But his hunger for contact, which often led to unnecessary roughness calls in high school, served him well as he battled for his scholarship.
"That's what it's all about, hitting people," Barfield said.
"He got a few 15-yard penalties," Cabot Coach Mike Malham said. "He was an aggressive kid. ... He was fun to be around, anyway. He gave you everything he had."
Barfield appeared on the Indians' first depth chart last week at inside linebacker behind fellow sophomore Les Echols, 5-11, 210, who started three games at free safety last year but appeared in all 11 and totaled 27 tackles.
Linebacker is a spot where the Indians could use help after losing three starters to expired eligibility, but Barfield is realistic about his chances.
"I'm a special teams specialist pretty much," Barfield said. "I like to get most of my playing time there and they said I'll probably rotate in come conference time at linebacker. But playing against these big SEC schools [Georgia and Ole Miss], I'm not big enough. I mean, I've got the drive, I just lack the physical demands."
For Cabot players, traditionally a few inches shorter, a couple pounds lighter or a half-step slower than the standard Division I recruit, giving everything is the only way to play.
"See in Cabot, everybody's well-disciplined, well-coached and that all contributes to why they're so successful," Barfield said. "Just repetition and tradition. I mean, they don't have the best talent in the world and that's what college football is. That's who they recruit. They recruit the big talent."
"Colleges are looking for certain heights and weights," Malham said.
Malham played linebacker for the Indians from 1972-75 and amassed 370 career tackles, placing him fourth on Arkansas State's all-time tackle chart. His name appears in the record books alongside such Indians greats as Jerry Muckensturm and Bill Bergey, and a full-page, football card-style photo of a charging Malham introduces the records section in this year's media guide.
Whether they sign scholarships or not, Malham's best players are cast in the same, blue-collar mode.
"That's a compliment to Coach Malham and the program and how he gets his kids prepared to play," Hollis said of the Panthers' success. "Because they're very physical and very disciplined and it's nice to have those people come into your program."
"We get our money's worth out of them," Malham said.
Barfield is one of 30 state players on the preseason roster for the Indians, who signed 14 Arkansas high school players in the spring, its highest total of state signees since 1988.
"I think you need to build a base," Malham said. "That's how you get more fan interest. Obviously you're going to go out of state, you can't get them all, but you need to build a solid base in Arkansas."
Attempting to join Barfield this year is freshman Mike Sowell, taking the same walk-on route after playing for the Cabot team that beat Fort Smith Southside to win the AAAAA state title last year.
"Same type guy," Hollis said. "A little undersized, mentally tough, hard-nosed. We appreciate the people from Cabot because they play the game the way it should be played. He'll play a lot for us."
They have already proven they know how to deliver hits, but the Cabot players have also proven they can take some potshots as well.
ASU's freshman quarterback Josh Driscoll was playing for Southside when Cabot claimed its title last year. As expected, the Panthers' representatives at ASU haven't let Driscoll forget it.
"They wanted me to put their rings on and took pictures," said Driscoll, who is nonetheless happy to have the former Panthers on his side for a change.
"That happens," he said. "They deserved it. They came out wanting to win and they just played harder than us and they won."
This article was published on August 27, 2001
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