Barnes has a day to remember
April 28, 2015 will be a day Southlake (Texas) Carroll 2017 safety Robert Barnes remembers for the rest of his life.
It was the day his first college scholarship arrived, as well as the day he grabbed his second. Both were unexpected but very welcome surprises.
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The Oregon State Beavers were the first college to extend a scholarship to the 6-foot-2, 185-pound safety. He is not real familiar with the program, but he is excited to learn more about what the Beavers have to offer. Of course being the first offer, the Beavers offer definitely means a lot.
"It feels great. It feels good to know I have a cushion now and an opportunity to go to college and to know there's a plan for me if everything goes good in high school," Barnes said. "It was just joy. I was super happy because I got to be around Jordan and Obi when they got their offers. I was super excited to know it was my time and I was blessed with the opportunity to receive an offer from a D1 program."
The Nebraska Cornhuskers followed quickly with his second scholarship offer. The Cornhusker program is one he is a little more familiar with and it also holds a special place in his mind.
"Well our kicker from two years ago, Drew Brown, went there. I know a lot from him. And I know my dad (Reggie Barnes) whenever he was coming out the Cornhuskers were in his top five," Barnes said. "So just talking to one of the coaches today it was nice to know about the program. He was telling me about the academics and how they sellout the stands. I was very surprised when I got it because it was so quick after the Oregon State one, but a lot of the Oregon State staff went over to Nebraska. I just felt really blessed and thankful for the opportunity."
Barnes' father Reggie Barnes was a highly recruited prospect out of South Grand Prairie before playing college football at Oklahoma. Barnes knows he has a valuable resource in his father and he has received some valuable advice as the recruiting process begins.
"He's said to do your research before making any decision," Barnes said. "Of course we'll be taking visits to the campuses and make sure I really fall in love with the campus and the coaching staff and the academics. And to make sure everything is there for me if I do choose to go to that school, and I'm not wanting to transfer or leave after a year or two and it's just overall a good place to receive my degree."
Oklahoma: "Every time I go out there I love it. I've been going out there for a long time just because my dad, it's where he played. It's just a fun experience every time just talking to some of the players. I love coach Cooks and I think he's a good coach and he's going to add a lot to the program. I just can't wait to build more of a personal relationship with them."
SMU: "SMU was cool too. I got to talk to a lot of the guys, but it was a just a quick visit. I didn't get to talk to the defensive coordinator and all of that stuff."
TCU: "TCU was cool. Its practically in my backyard. Like 30 minutes away so it would be nice to be close to home and stuff like that. I like their defensive schemes and how their defense attacks the ball and all that."
He also has a few plans for the summer.
"I think me and a couple of my friends are going to go out and visit Washington, Oregon, and Oregon State in the summer," Barnes said.
He also plans to hit the camp circuit this summer.
"I know I'm going local to like TCU, the Texas camp, Oklahoma. I might go to the USC camp. I'm trying to get the dates for that."
In addition to his scholarship offers, Barnes has also received interest from Texas Tech, USC, Oklahoma, Washington, Oregon, TCU, and SMU, and several schools plan to stop by and check him out this spring.