By Frank Rajkowski, SJU Writer/Video Producer

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - At the All-College Convocation held on the first day of classes at Saint John's University this fall, associate professor of Hispanic Studies Corey Shouse urged incoming Johnnies to find their own Jedi Masters on campus.

Mentors who could show them the ropes and assist them as they formed their own connections and bonds in Collegeville.

But even before that valuable advice had been dispensed, word had already gotten around the Saint John's football locker room:

Kai Barber is Yoda in shoulder pads.



"I've definitely had a lot more of the younger kids approaching me this year with questions about school and football," said Barber, the 6-foot-1, 220-pound running back out of Totino-Grace High School who is back for a fifth season on a medical redshirt.

"They want advice on what they need to be successful at Saint John's. I think they know I'm a guy who has been around here a long time.

"I guess I'm sort of the old man now."

Barber, 23, first arrived on campus in the fall of 2015 after taking a year following his high school graduation to play junior hockey with the Peoria Mustangs of the NA3HL.

The physical runner made an immediate impact, seeing action in all 12 games that season as part of a roster that included then-senior wide receiver Josh Bungum '16. 

Bungum, in turn, has gone on to become one of Barber's offensive coaches the past few seasons.

"He took kind of a different road to Saint John's with spending a year in junior hockey, but you could tell when he first got here that he was just a big, strong kid," Bungum recalls. "He was ready to match up physically on the field in a way that a lot of true freshmen aren't able to.

"It hasn't been the easiest road for him with injuries he's had to deal with. But last year, you could feel watching him that he was back to full strength physically. 

"And it showed."

Indeed, Barber carried the ball 91 times for a team-best 587 yards and seven touchdowns in 2018, helping the Johnnies advance to the Division III national quarterfinals for the first time since 2006.

Of course, as Bungum said, being healthy played a big role in that.

A shoulder injury he suffered in 2016 required surgery, holding him to just four games that year and only nine the following season.

"It's been a very emotional ride," he said. "After having surgery (in 2016), it took me awhile before I was able to get back to doing all the things I could before. It was really frustrating at times because I wasn't sure if I was ever going to get back to full-strength.

"But last year was great. It felt like I was back at the top of my game again. And that makes me a lot more confident coming into this season. I feel really lucky to be getting one more go-around, and I want to make the most of it."

Getting that final go-around, though, required making a tough decision. He has eligibility remaining in track and field as well, where last spring he finished 10th in the nation indoors and ninth outdoors in the shot put.

But with just one semester left to complete, he had to make a choice: return for football this fall or hold off and come back to track and field in the spring.

"It wasn't easy," he said. "I gave a lot of thought to coming back and just doing track and field. It was really hard to pick one over the other and I didn't make the final decision until this summer.

"I took some time to myself and I just felt like this team has something special going. I wanted the chance to be part of it."

Bungum said it means a lot to have him around once more.

"He's so experienced," his teammate-turned-coach said. "You don't even have to know he's a fifth-year guy. It's just the way he carries himself. He's been around so long and he's so comfortable with the coaching staff and how we do things here.

"He gives off that aura, and the younger guys looking for advice gravitate toward him."

Barber is the elder statesman of a running back corps that also includes junior Kenneth Udoibok, who rushed for 382 yards and eight touchdowns a year ago, and sophomore Henry Trost, who turned heads in nine games as a freshman – carrying the ball 24 times for 341 yards and two touchdowns.

"We all bring something different to the table," Barber said. "Henry definitely brings speed. He's one of the fastest guys on the team. Kenny is very physical. He and I are both power backs.

"I can get out there and catch the ball in the flat a little bit because I've had some experience running routes in the passing game. So we all complement each other really well."

And Barber – a finance major who already has a job lined up as a financial advisor following graduation – hopes that mix can help take the Johnnies where they want to go this fall.

"There is so much talent on this team," he said. "If we play to our potential, we can go a long way. We're focused on taking it one game at a time. But our ultimate goal is bringing a national title back to Saint John's."