Barr still keeping things open
Todd Barr continues to pile up offers with California and Oregon being the two latest ones as the Lakewood, Calif., defensive end remains one of the hottest names on the West Coast.
Barr, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound prospect who's exploded on the scene this spring, recently visited both Pac-10 teams and said his decision-making process could be even tougher now. No timetable has been set though and Barr doesn't seem in any hurry to get his recruitment finished.
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"(Defensive line) coach (Jerry Azzinaro) seems like he's a great guy and he could get me to the next level," Barr said of his Oregon trip.
"They showed me the practice facility, the indoor facility, and that was amazing. The locker room was beautiful. It looked like a home where you can lay out and relax. They showed me the stadium and how it would be to walk down the tunnel and they showed me the academic facility."
Assistant coach Ron Gould is the lead recruiter for Cal but Barr is also talking lots with defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi, the Rivals.com recruiter of the year. The people at Cal stand out to Barr, who said he also likes the practice pace in Berkeley and at Oregon.
"They're just a bunch of great people," Barr said of Cal. "I like the whole coaching staff. Coach Lupoi is a young guy but he knows what he's talking about. I like the intensity of the practice and how everybody is running around and everybody's focused on football. It was like that at Oregon, too."
Barr has also visited Stanford, Southern Cal and UCLA. The Cardinal and Bruins have offered and he likes both schools. At this point, Barr seems to be keeping all the programs that have offered on the same plane, not tipping one way or another until he can sit down and weigh all his options.
"UCLA is going to do big things especially with the recruiting class they brought in last year," Barr said. Coach (Todd) Howard is a great guy. I talk to him occasionally, I try to contact him at least once a week.
"Coach (Jim) Harbaugh, coach (Brian) Polian, everyone was great (at Stanford.) I sat down and had a meeting with the defensive line coach and everybody was just a great person. Everybody was nice, everybody was cool. I liked the practice and the facilities were amazing. The whole campus was just nice."
Southern Cal has not offered but Barr said defensive line coach Ed Orgeron told him he wants to stop by some spring practices before an offer is given. Barr will also participate in the Los Angeles Nike Camp and the USC Rising Stars Camp, his only planned camp stops this off-season.
The Trojans are definitely under serious consideration.
"With USC, I go out to their practices all the time," Barr said. "Coach O seems like he's fired up all the time. He knows his football especially with all the superstars under his belt so I know he can possibly prepare me for the NFL.
"Coach O said he wants to come see me at spring practice and that's why they're waiting to offer. They might wait to offer me after the camp but he said he's going to come out to a few of my spring practices."