Morgan State's Barton: ‘When It Hits Me, Tears Will Come Down’

KARIM BARTON
MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY BEARS GRADUATE
PHOTO COURTESY PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania  -- When the Eagles’ team huddle broke to end Tuesday’s OTA, dozens of players walked toward the NovaCare Complex’s main building that houses the locker room.

Walking alone in the other direction was offensive lineman Karim Barton. He slowly traveled about 50 yards with his helmet in hand and his green jersey drenched in sweat, passing many teammates along the way. He stopped at the two-person orange blocking sled on the outskirts of the facility to get additional work in.

"The coaches can't come out here and give me one-on-one time because of time restrictions," he said. "So I created one-on-one time with the sleds."

Barton is used to traveling alone, and taking a different path than most of his peers is why he’s in Philadelphia in the first place. After growing up in Kingston, Jamaica, then moving to South Central Los Angeles, he has escaped the drugs, violence and poverty that plague both areas.

"It still hasn't hit me," he said. "When it hits me, tears will come down. To beat the odds, not a lot of people make it out of South Central, and not a lot of people make it out of Kingston."

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