Saturday, August 17, 2024

1979 Profile: Jerome Barkum

Tight End
No. 83
Jackson State
"The Bekins of tight ends. Barkum was a wide receiver for the first five years of his career before making the move to tight end in '77. 'At first I had some doubts, not about my ability, but I hadn't played the position,' he recalls. 'Now I'm catching balls in the middle and up the chute and it's nice. It's fun, too. I get to hit people before they hit me.'
Barkum was one of Namath's favorite targets in the old days. He was born July 18, 1950, in Gulfport, Mississippi,  and was the Jets' No. 1 draft pick in '72 out of Jackson State. Barkum set a high school basketball record by grabbing 30 rebounds in one game. He's still a dangerous deep threat wherever he plays."

-Dave Newhouse, The Complete Handbook of Pro Football (1979 Edition)

"Jerome has made the transformation from wide receiver to tight end. He's a clutch receiver with great hands and his blocking has noticeably improved.
Jerome had 30 rebounds in a high school basketball game."

-1979 Topps No. 21

No comments:

Post a Comment