Barth preps for camp; Gamecocks have Wolfpack's attention

On Thursday afternoon, the Kansas City Chiefs' charter flight departed

middle America for a cooler summer destination: River Falls, Wis. On that

plane: One of Wilmington's coolest-under-pressure athletes, kicker Connor

Barth.

After surviving the first cut, he is trying to win the Chiefs' starting job with former Maryland kicker Nick Novak. Their training-camp competition begins today and plays out live Aug. 7 in Kansas City's preseason opener at Chicago.

A visualization proponent, Barth talks about Soldier Field in Chicago as if he's been there before. In his mind, he has. Mental strength is the key, Barth said, to landing the job.

"The only time I got really nervous was the first day … with the team," Barth said of his trip to Kansas City in May. "I realized I was actually at the NFL stage. After that, it felt like college again."

As the kicker at North Carolina, Barth was as dependable as the tides. In Barth's four seasons, coaches John Bunting and Butch Davis were rarely on the right side of wide-margin games, so Barth was under pressure to keep a slim lead or keep the Tar Heels in shouting distance.

Barth is hoping to have a job worth shouting about (NFL salary minimum: close to $300,000) by the end of August. Even he's getting a little nervous. "Now, it's kind of like, it's for real," he said. "This is your life, what you're working for your whole life."

Eye-opening opener

Last year, the Tom O'Brien era at N.C. State began with a home loss to Central Florida. The Wolfpack treated UCF like a guy treats his safety date for the prom: The tux is rented, but the car doesn't get vacuumed, the shoes aren't shined.

O'Brien knew George O'Leary, and he took the challenge of UCF seriously. "I don't know if the football team did," he said.

This year, a Thursday night ESPN date with South Carolina is enough for State to get the full wash and wax, to look its absolute best come Aug. 28.

"From the first day we came back in January, there's been a little something different," O'Brien said. "The intensity, the concentration pick up. If you're playing somebody else, maybe there isn't that intensity and maybe you don't make the strides you have to make to get better. It gives you a chance to get better faster."

Closing thoughts

From the ACC football kickoff: UNC's Davis and N.C. State's O'Brien had different ways of critiquing the media's preseason picks. The Tar Heels were picked second in the Coastal Division, prompting Davis to wonder if voters had been given 'sobriety tests.' O'Brien, asked what he would tell his team about the media picking the Wolfpack last in the Atlantic, deadpanned: "Consider the source." … BC's Jeff Jagodzinski believes he has a gem of a coach in Steve Logan. "I think he's one of the best quarterback coaches and teachers on any level," Jags said of the former East Carolina head coach. "The proof is in what he's done. He hasn't just done it with one guy." … Virginia Tech QB Sean Glennon on wearing a jersey borrowed from Georgia Tech last season when his was stolen: "You know, I looked at Georgia Tech pretty heavily. There was a point in time where I thought I might wear a Georgia Tech jersey. When I committed to Virginia Tech, I thought those days were over. It turned out it wasn't."

Sports Editor Neil Amato can be reached at 343-2263 or neil.amato@starnewsonline.com.