Drew Barker was only a junior in high school, but he had a pretty good idea how the recruiting process would play out.Even though the Burlington, Ky., native was listening to his home state school’s pitch from new head coach Mark Stoops, Barker figured he would end up elsewhere.On April 13, 2013, Barker reached a “turning point.””I remember going into the spring game last year and I was pretty sure South Carolina was my leader and Tennessee and Kentucky were kind of behind,” Barker said. “And then I went to the spring game and I saw over 50,000 people there and just the atmosphere.”The rest, as they say, is history.Less than a month after his visit for the annual Blue/White Spring Game — attended by a record 50,831 fans — Barker announced his commitment. Kentucky had its prized quarterback prospect and the momentum Stoops and his staff were building with their work on the class of 2014 went from snowball to avalanche.”It was really eye-opening to me and all the recruits that were there because I know the majority of the recruits that were there ended up committing to us,” Barker said. “So I think that had a big impact on not only myself, but everybody else that went.”Count Mikel Horton in that group as well.The four-star running back out of West Chester, Ohio, was on the verge of committing and coming to the spring game pushed him over the edge. He gave his pledge exactly a week later.”The atmosphere was ridiculous,” Horton said. “Having that amount of fans there and especially there with my family and friends to show them that this is where I’m going to be playing and this is where I’m going to be scoring my touchdowns and getting long runs and helping out the team. It was a very humbling, life-changing experience for me as far as football. It made me appreciate it more.”For Horton, there was no substitute for getting a sneak preview of game day in Commonwealth Stadium.”Oh man, just the college atmosphere,” Horton said. “The fireworks, the screaming and the hitting and everything. I was shocked and wanted to be a part of that so much.”Dorian Hendrix had a unique perspective on the day of the spring game. Having committed three weeks prior, the linebacker from Huber Heights, Ohio, was playing recruiter, trying to convince his fellow visitors to join him at UK.”That was actually a really important day,” Hendrix said. “There were a lot of guys there who are committed to us now who weren’t committed at the time. They came and they saw that same energy, that same excitement and that made them want to be a part of this whole thing. I talked to some guys and got them on board and that was a good day for UK.”In the two months after the spring game, Stoops secured 12 new commitments. All told, 20 of the 28 players who eventually signed with Kentucky attended the spring game.”Just everything from the Cat Walk to being on the field before the game, we were sitting there, everybody’s talking, like, ‘Man, this is awesome,’ ” Barker said. “If they’re doing this coming off a 2-10 season, imagine if we all come here and get a recruiting class to join everybody else who is here and start winning, imagine the support that would then come.’ We were just talking about that and we thought it would be really big and that was definitely a big turning point for myself and my recruitment.”A year later, Barker, Horton and Hendrix will again be at the spring game on April 26 at 3:30 p.m. ET, but this time as players. The trio is among seven midyear enrollees who arrived on campus in January.”I’m really looking forward to actually being on the field as a player with that kind of atmosphere,” Barker said. “So it’s definitely going to be awesome and I’m just blessed to have the opportunity to come in here early and have that opportunity to get on there before an actual game.”Due to construction, Commonwealth’s capacity will be reduced to around 40,000, meaning last year’s record attendance won’t be threatened and UK is unlikely to rank in the top six nationally in attendance again. Nonetheless, a packed house would be a big deal for the players who will be uniform and those who could be a year from now.”It’s huge,” Hendrix said. “It’s huge for recruitment. It’s huge for us. It lets us know that this community and this school are supporting us. It’s huge for recruitment. You got guys coming from down south and everywhere across the country coming to see this game and they see 40,000 in the stands, it’s important.”Horton, asked of the impact fans can have by attending the spring game, had an even more direct message for the Big Blue Nation. “Why not get a ticket?” Horton said. “I’m not going to boast on UK. I’m not going to tell people something that they’ve heard and it has not changed, but we’re a different team. And that’s coming from my soul. That’s coming from deep in and I wouldn’t lie to the fans. We’re a different team. The mentality, the physicality here is totally different. “For this spring game, you need to get a ticket because you’re going to see something different.”Tickets for UK’s annual Blue/White Spring Game are available now online at Ticketmaster.com, by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 and in person at Ticketmaster outlets in Kentucky. Tickets are free, but there is a minimal service charge attached.