Busy time continues for Barton

Michael Barton visited Washington last weekend and it was a good trip for the Concord (Calif.) De La Salle linebacker who's quickly becoming one of the hottest names on the West Coast.

What especially stood out to Barton, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound recruit who now lists offers from LSU, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State, was the Huskies' coaching staff and their vision for the future.

Barton was so impressed that he plans to keep Washington around in his recruitment for a long time.

"It went great," Barton said. "When I went down there it's a beautiful city. Seattle reminds me a lot of San Francisco and the campus was really nice as well. I met all the coaches and they're a really young staff.

"They're really experienced as well. One thing I noticed about the staff is they're really hungry and they really want to win. They're changing that program around. You can see they're going to be one of the top programs in the Pac-12 next year.

"I was comfortable with each coach. They're really easy to get along with and they seem like the right fit for me so they're definitely going to be one of the top picks. Their mind is on the Rose Bowl next year and it really helps going up there and seeing what the school is like. That really helps."

Even though Washington made a big impression on Barton, he's not ready to make a commitment to any school because lots is still happening. He's planning to see Oregon State and possibly Washington State over spring break. The De La Salle standout wants to visit LSU sometime soon, too.

This weekend Barton and teammate Bart Houston, who now has offers from Colorado, Wisconsin and San Diego State, will visit USC for its junior day and possibly have time to stop by UCLA, too.

It's getting busier for Barton and that's just how he wants it as he tries to find the perfect fit for college.

"It's been non-stop," he said. "I'm going to USC and I'm trying to get to UCLA this weekend. I finally got the offer from LSU. I'm going to try to get there again hopefully this spring but track is really competitive. I just have to work around my schedule but I really want to get down there.

"I just talked to coach (Ed) Orgeron and he said they were talking about me and coach (Lane) Kiffin really wants to see me so it would be nice to get an offer. I'm not sure what's going to happen but we'll see. USC has such rich tradition, it's a great school, so that would definitely shake it up a little bit. I didn't even think they were interested until recently."