Sequoyah’s Barr signs with University of the Cumberlands football

When Billy Barr stepped onto Sequoyah’s gridiron last spring he did not have his future in the sport beyond the 2023 season in mind.

But things work mysteriously.

The Chiefs’ senior took to the sport, was a part of a Sequoyah team tied for the top record in the county and is continuing his time in it after signing with the University of the Cumberlands football team.

“I definitely was not thinking about playing in college. When I started I just wanted to play. I felt like I had the size and body type to get better and have a chance,” Barr said.

Barr had never played tackle football competitively until last spring. His experience ties back to Thanksgiving games in the backyard and flag football.

“It shows that his hard work is apparent in how he does everything. He is a good basketball player and he is a great student. He is a great leader in our school and a great Christian,” Sequoyah coach Derrick Vestal said. “Football was something unnatural to him at first, but he has a natural ability to exploit and kind of encapsulate the ability that he has. It was a great deal for him to come out, but I think he is happy that he is.”

In his one season with Sequoyah, Barr was an All-County selection and named to the All-Region 3-4A second team.

“It shows that he is very coachable no matter what. He was very raw, but it shows that he liked what we were doing and wanted to be a part of it,” Vestal said. “I think it is huge, but I think his ability to adapt and be a dynamic player for us is huge.”

The University of the Cumberlands Patriots went 6-4 in 2023 with a 2-4 Mid-South Conference record.

Barr reached out to the staff during the snowstorms before quickly being invited for a visit. Cumberland’s head coach is Shan Housekeeper with Tyson Beacham serving as wide receiver coach.

“They just seemed excited about my ceiling being high. Since I have only played one year I can get a lot better,” Barr said. “They are willing to work with me to get a lot better.”

Barr plans to major in exercise science.

Barr joins Ben Murphy at Maryville College as a Sequoyah college signee under Vestal’s tenure. The program expects more to follow soon.

“Having a great staff compiled: Shemar Collier is the best weight room guy there is; Avery Jones, who works with our receivers, is a technical teacher; my dad — Billy Vestal — doing the offensive line; Brandon Looney doing the special teams — they bought into what my vision was and now it is our vision,” Vestal said. “Seeing the amount of work we put in, there are hours put in behind the scenes of the coaches and myself reaching out to our connections, sending film, sending email, having college coaches come by the school.”

It is a testament to the growth of the program. Another sign of that was just getting Barr onto the football field. A long-term basketball player, and an All-District 5-3A selection this season, Barr was known for his ability with a rock instead of the pigskin.

“It was very special for me to see Billy come out and play. He is part of the process of building it forward,” Vestal said. “He is a big recruiter for us in our own school. Because Billy Barr the basketball player is now Billy Barr the football player. I think it should be eye-opening to a lot of athletes in our school to say ‘I don’t have to just play one sport. Because the more sports I play, the better opportunity I have to play college ball.’”

For Barr, the biggest challenge adjusting to football was the physicality, but his competitive nature did not take long to take over.

“The physicality is definitely the big difference. Just playing football and getting stronger definitely helped me in basketball,” Barr said. “When you are in a drill or in a one v one type matchup and you lose … the emotions that come with it versus basketball (feel different). If you lose or get beat in practice you feel awful.

“I have never felt exactly like that in basketball.”

Barr finished his season with 184 yards and one touchdown on 15 receptions.

“It was not too off from whatever my expectations were. Getting hit definitely actually hurt and I did not think it would hurt as bad as it did,” Barr added. “You see guys on the TV get hit and get up, but sometimes it hurts a lot. It was not too different than what I expected.

“There were definitely some things to learn.”

For players considering picking up a second sport, Barr is quick to encourage them.

“One of my reasons for not playing football was that I would not be playing basketball all the time, so I am going to get rusty,” Barr said. “I was a little rusty when I came back but that did not matter. What really mattered was when I came back I was stronger and less tired throughout the game.

“Getting better did not really matter that much when I had a whole bunch of fun.”