No number, no problem for new Rebels tight end

By Rob Miech

Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

The most rousing explosion in the Sam Boyd Stadium stands Saturday night came on a 2-yard pass reception by the only player not wearing a numbered jersey at the UNLV football scrimmage.

Jordan Barrett, a Rebel for all of eight days, didn’t miss his father and mother, three younger brothers, girlfriend, grandmother, aunt and uncle, and two nephews.

“Yeah, I heard them screaming,” said the rookie 6-foot-3, 225-pound tight end. “Reminded me of the old days back in high school.”

Barrett’s father, Jeff, turned to his wife, Kim, when the group settled. You’re cheering, he said, for a 2-yard gain? That’s better than a 2-yard loss, she said.

“Always optimistic,” said Jeff Barrett.

Near the end of the controlled and situational scrimmage, they again roared in unison when Jordan Barrett nabbed a 3-yarder.

“See, there’s his cheering section,” Jeff Barrett said as he looked over his shoulder. “You can always tell where the Barretts are in a crowd.”

Jordan Barrett became a bona fide Rebel after the scrimmage when fellow tight end and mentor Kyle Watkins ripped off the red stripe that ran down the middle of Barrett’s helmet.

That came in a team huddle, with everyone watching, at midfield.

“It’s something symbolic ... becoming part of the team,” Barrett said. “I am already getting close with other players. This team really is a family. It’s something special.”

Barrett is so new to the UNLV family, his No. 41 jersey wasn’t ready for the scrimmage. After his whirlwind past week and a half, however, his relatives were just happy to see him under Division-I lights.

Neither Barrett nor his parents were fazed when Jordan was switched from linebacker to tight end as soon as he reported to UNLV’s camp in Ely.

“I told him it’s best to focus on getting on the field,” said Jeff Barrett. “Whatever you have to do to get on the field, do it. His mom and I enjoy watching offense a bit more than defense, anyway.”

Two Wednesdays ago, Jordan Barrett left a funeral, in the San Fernando Valley area north of Los Angeles, with his girlfriend and her family when he saw some missed text messages and cell-phone calls.

Marcus Sullivan, a running back out of Cheyenne High, had failed to qualify academically, so UNLV recruiting coordinator Gary Bernardi tried to tell Barrett there was a spot for him.

Barrett was contemplating getting a job or taking fewer than 12 credits at a junior college, working out and playing some golf with his pop this fall, then reporting to UNLV next spring.

Instead, Barrett called Bernardi back and couldn’t believe his good fortune.

Jeff Barrett, an executive for a rental-car company, finished a major project, the family had a big going-away dinner – stuffed rigatoni, Jordan’s favorite – and Jeff drove his son to Las Vegas at 4 a.m. on Aug. 14.

With paperwork completed at UNLV, an assistant coach and Jordan Barrett drove to Ely for camp that afternoon. Five individual workouts later, Jordan practiced in pads for the first time as a Rebel.

“I’m loving practice and getting back in the swing of things,” Barrett said. “I’m happy I’m out here and doing what I love.”

Notre Dame’s loss is UNLV’s gain. The Irish had offered a scholarship to Barrett, whom the recruiting service Rivals.com had labeled with three stars, when he was at Sherman Oaks (Calif.) Notre Dame High.

Jordan Barrett took an unofficial visit to the campus in South Bend, Ind.

“A great place, and the coaches are great,” he said. “I just didn’t feel like it’s a place I wanted to call home. I wasn’t quite ready to make that commitment to a place so far away from home.

“It’s just something I wanted to pray about and think about ... By the time I thought about it, the opportunity had passed. Looking back, it wasn’t a place I was comfortable committing to right away.”

Washington also offered, but Barrett stopped hearing from the Huskies after Ty Willingham got sacked and Steve Sarkisian took over as head coach.

Barrett took his lone official visit to UNLV, and he liked what he saw last spring. Plus, an aunt and a grandmother work at the Thomas & Mack Center.

UNLV fans will enjoy hearing about Jeff Barrett’s collegiate career. In 1992, he started at quarterback as a senior at Brown in the Ivy League, but he was a freshman for a forgettable season at UNR.

“I hated that place,” said Jeff Barrett.

He looked back out at the field, at his 18-year-old son wearing the plain white jersey, and fairly beamed.

“I don’t care what number he is,” Jeff Barrett said. “I just want him to be involved.”