Heels offer Peach State ATH

Three-star Powder Springs (Ga.) McEachern athlete C.J. Barrows has added another scholarship offer to his list of prospective schools.

“I just got offered by North Carolina,” he said. “Their coach calls me a whole lot. He wants me real bad as a safety. I’m going to take a close look at them now because they say I could come in and maybe play as a freshman. I’ve heard a lot of good things about their all-around athletic program and the campus there, so I’ll probably take a visit sometime in January.”

Barrows (6-3, 205, 4.5) also has offers from Illinois, Louisville, Ole Miss, Florida, Maryland and South Carolina. He’s scheduled one official visit to date – Illinois on Dec. 5.

“My top five is Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina and Maryland,” he said. “But I’m losing a little bit of faith in those first two. Alabama hasn’t called in a while, and Georgia seems like they’re set at my positions. Unless something changes, it will probably be between those other three schools.”

Regarding Illinois, Barrows said he likes the fact that the Illini are recruiting him as a running back. He’s rushed for more than 700 yards and eight touchdowns on only 75 carries this season. He’s coming off a 210-yard effort in last week’s game.

“They think I’d be a good Big Ten back,” he said. “They like big backs. Plus, they don’t have a whole lot of depth at that position, so I may be able to compete for some early playing time.”

Barrows said Maryland also likes him at running back.

“They involved their backs in the whole offensive scheme,” he said. “They will split their backs out wide or in the slot and throw to them. I like that. I heard they’ve got a real good offensive coordinator.”

As a junior, Barrows had 920 yards rushing and 225 yards receiving. He scored a combined 18 touchdowns.

Academically, he carries a 2.8 GPA and has scored an 18 on his ACT.