Clemson and USC are among the offers for DB Ryan Barnes (6-1 175) of Gaithersburg, MD. Both teams are recruiting him with a lot of interest and he plans to see both this spring. In fact, he and his family will be down at Clemson for the next junior day March 7th.
“That’s another of the big schools I’ve definitely been a fan of for awhile,” Barnes said of Clemson. “Just getting the opportunity to play for a team like that means a lot. Just getting the opportunity to play college football means a lot to me, especially for a program like that, it’s definitely a great opportunity.”
Brent Venables and Mike Reed are the Clemson coaches recruiting Barnes. He’s learned a lot about the program from them to go along with what he’s seen on TV.
“Obviously, they are an amazing program athletically,” Barnes said. “Just the environment there is very family oriented, which my parents love, so they know that I’m going to be taken care. Academically they are amazing. It definitely checks a lot of boxes on my list. I’m very excited for next weekend getting down there.”
Kyle Krantz is the USC coach recruiting Barnes, and he said he hears regularly from head coach Will Muschamp as well.
“They are in constant contact with me, always checking in on me, which I always appreciate, and my parents always appreciate,” Barnes said. “Being able to play early. We haven’t gotten into detail but I’ve been told that getting playing time definitely is something that’s in my future with them.”
Barnes has yet to visit USC but he’s watched the Gamecock from afar and is impressed by what he’s seen.
“Great academic program, great athletic program,” Barnes said. “Growing up just being able to watch them on TV all the time has definitely influenced me.”
Barnes can play corner, safety and Nickel and has yet to be determined which one he will play in college. Last season he had around 30 tackles with 2 interceptions, both returned for scores, and 15 pass deflections.
Barnes said no schools are standing out with him at the moment but he’ll form a list after spring visits. He’s not sure if he’ll graduate early and there’s no timeline for a decision.
“If we find a place that we really love and that we think is the best for me, that will definitely be something that we will do early,” Barnes said. “Right now we are still in the fall for a commitment date.”
Some of his other offers are Georgia, Oklahoma, Penn State, Florida, LSU, Michigan, Louisville, Maryland, Duke, Pitt, Southern Cal, Florida State, Virginia, Kansas, Kentucky, Arizona State, Boston College and East Carolina. He visited Duke the last weekend in January.
