2014 OL has 12 offers, more likely
With a father who played at Notre Dame and a pair of brothers currently at Michigan and Penn State, 2014 Nashville (Tenn.) Montgomery Bell offensive lineman Alex Bars has plenty of people to help him navigate through the recruiting process.
In the meantime, he's focused on his transition from defensive tackle to offensive tackle, the position that schools like Michigan, Ohio State, Tennessee and others have offered him a scholarship to play at the next level.
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"I'm feeling pretty comfortable," said Bars, who played only defense until this season when he became his team's starting left tackle. "I'm still learning and I'm still getting better. It's pretty different than defense, you have to contain yourself a little bit you can't just go out there and go wild."
Bars said he now likes offense as much or perhaps even more than he did defense. The fact that schools like Alabama, Florida, Georgia and LSU are now contacting him on a regular basis hasn't hurt his newfound affinity for offense either.
"It's pretty awesome to be hearing from those type of schools," Bars said. "It's just really starting so I'm enjoying it right now."
None of the aforementioned SEC big boys have offered yet, but Bars has accumulated a dozen offers and once his junior tape goes out his list is surely to grow.
This fall, Bars has taken visits to Notre Dame, Tennessee, Michigan and Vanderbilt and also made the rounds on the camp circuit during the summer. He said the atmosphere at the Wolverines and Volunteers game stood out the most.
"They all had a pretty good atmosphere but Michigan and Tennessee … they were sweet," Bars said. "They can really cram a lot of fans in those stadiums and the noise level was crazy."
Despite a little bit of playful family recruiting by his siblings and his father, Bars insists that he's not leaning in any particular direction.
"I'm completely wide open right now," he said. "I'm keeping all my options open and just enjoying it for now."
As far as a timeline, Bars plans to spend the offseason taking visits with his family, before hopefully making a decision sometime next year.
"I'll probably wait until after my football season then start really looking," he said. "Maybe I can make a decision by January or February."