Zakye Barker holds the WLB · Starter spot in North Texas Mean Green’s linebacker room. Where he sits among the room’s front-line roles:

Zakye Barker is a 5'11", 225-pound weak-side linebacker from Norcross, Georgia, who transfers to North Texas as a redshirt senior. At Norcross High School, he recorded 456 career tackles across 38 games and led the state in total tackles in 2019 and 2020. Barker spent three seasons at East Carolina (2022–2024), appearing in 20 games with 10 starts, then joined SMU for the 2025 season. Across his college career, he has appeared in 31 games with 12 starts, accumulating 133 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, and three forced fumbles. He earned Second Team All-American Conference honors in 2024.

East Carolina2022 – 2024

SMU2025

North Texas2026 — present