In a career lasting ten years, he played for the Charlotte Rage, the Connecticut Coyotes, the Tampa Bay Storm, the Grand Rapids Rampage and the Milwaukee Mustangs.
[1] Barley attended Gretna High School, where he participated in football, basketball, wrestling, and track and field.
[4] As a senior, he led the team with 108 tackles while registering 1,049 yards and seven touchdowns on offense, again earning first-team all-district honors at both positions.
[4] As a senior, he won the regional title in the triple jump and ran a leg in the 400-yard relay team that finished second in the state.
[8] He chose to attend Winston-Salem State University, a Division II school which did not fall under the same guidelines at the time, over offers from Maryland, Virginia, Elon, and Ferrum.
[9] In June 1991, he was signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) after impressing their coaching staff at a free agent camp in Shreveport, Louisiana.
[9] Ahead of the 1993 season, he was loaned out to the Tampa Bay Storm for an exhibition game against the Detroit Drive in Frankfurt, Germany.
[14] Barley rushed for 52 yards on five carries and caught a touchdown in the Storm's 43–35 win, and was named the game's most valuable player.
[15] Upon his return to the Rage, Barley rushed for 42 yards and one touchdown before he was permanently acquired by the Storm in a midseason trade for receiver Anthony Howard.
[9] He was elected team captain ahead of the 1994 season, moving into the starting fullback role after the departure of Andre Bowden.