Four-star athlete Taye Barber makes dancing around defenders look pretty easy. As the end of July approached, he shuffled around his commitment date as well, but on Sunday evening he revealed that TCU was his pick.

The Horned Frogs had been a favorite in his recruitment since a visit early in the spring. Even though a number of offers from around the country came his way throughout the offseason, his connection with TCU was one the others couldn’t match.

“There’s just something about TCU that I can’t get off of my mind,” he said. “I just felt like if I went to another school it just wouldn’t have felt right.”

Teams like Clemson and Wisconsin made a play for Barber as well, but those and several other offers came on the defensive side of the ball. Barber had been sold for some time on specifically playing in TCU’s offense - particularly on the opportunity to get involved in the passing game early in his tenure there.

While he has the speed to get deep in a hurry, he’s a natural fit as a playmaker out of the slot. Beyond that, Barber said that the bond he’s built with the coaching staff throughout his recruitment was also a heavy factor in his decision to choose the Frogs.

“I can’t wait to get to it,” he said. “I have a great relationship with the coaching staff and I just see myself fitting in perfectly with what they’re trying to do with me. My relationship with the staff is amazing; they kept it real with me throughout this whole process and I thank them for that.”

Barber had originally eyed up committing on August 1, but after Houston-Lamar and Fast Houston 7v7 teammate Ta’Zhawn Henry suggested in a June 23 tweet that he and Barber had some mutual news to unveil on August 8, so started speculation both might announce commitments to Iowa State.

While Barber obviously felt strongly enough about TCU to commit now, he said that the Cyclones aren’t completely out of the picture. He confirmed that he’ll likely take an official visit to Ames on the weekend of September 9, but isn’t concerned with much else for now.

“Iowa State was really close and still is,” he said. “I have an official up there scheduled for when they play Iowa, but I don’t know about any other schools yet.”

Henry visited TCU last Friday, but is still in-line to announce his commitment next week. Whether Barber will play a role in his upcoming decision remains to be seen, but in the meantime, he was content to commit now to the team he seemed like he was heading to all along.

“It just felt like the time was right to commit to TCU,” he said.