Barker Fall-Out: ‘A.J. Barker is not a member of our football team’

September 29, 2012; Iowa City, IA, USA; Iowa Hawkeye safety Tanner Miller (5) tackles Minnesota Golden Gopher wide receiver A.J. Barker (82) in the first quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

Earlier Wednesday, news broke that ex-Gopher wide receiver, A.J. Barker, was arrested on campus at the University of Houston Monday night for marijuana possession.

On Dec. 6, Barker’s brother told the Pioneer Press that Barker had accepted a scholarship to play in Houston.

“He’s super excited now that he has a coach that truly believes he’s the real deal,” said Ross Barker to the Pioneer Press. “He’s gonna do great. I’m excited for him. It’s a great opportunity.”

But according to the Star Tribune’s Michael Rand, UH spokesman David Bassity emailed the newspaper following news of the arrest and said that Barker was not offered a scholarship and is not a member of the football team.

The plot thickens around Barker as now it appears he has been caught in a lie (on the same day as Te’o’s ‘scandal’ with that).

More information should come out and Gold and Gopher is looking into finding out if Barker is actually an enrolled student at UH, but the latest updates really put Barker in a shady light given his problems in Minnesota that more or less blew up in his face.

UPDATE:

A search through the University of Houston student directory does not list an Alexander J Barker. This is likely trivial, but if he was an enrolled student, his name should be listed in the directory given that he did not redact his information.

On the University of Minnesota’s student directory, Barker is listed as a student.