SoCal TE ready for camp season

Tight end Marlion Barnett (6-3, 220, 4.7) from Corona (Calif.) Santiago is a player you may want to keep your eye on as the recruiting process moves on. It appears that things could burst open for along the recruiting front for Barnett, as there are many schools that are showing interest in him. Earlier in the spring evaluation period, Barnett picked up his first offer.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers were the first school that offered Barnett and he thinks the Bruins could close to offering him if he has a good camp performance at their camp coming up in June.

"UCLA is getting close to an offer," Barnett said. "They want to see me in their camp.

"Oregon State wants me to call," Barnett said. "They have also invited me to their camp. Oregon is another school that has invited me their camp. As matter of fact, Boise State, Utah and Washington have invited me to their camps.

"I'm of course really interested in Minnesota," Barnett said. "I've been doing a lot of research lately on Minnesota and I hope to take an unofficial visit there to check out the city and the campus."

Does Barnett have a timetable for when he will commit?

"I'm thinking that if UCLA offers me early at their camp, I will probably commit to the Bruins early," Barnett said. "If not then I'll keep weighing my options and checking other schools out."

As a junior, Barnett earned first-team all-CIF and first-team all-league honors after hauling in 30 receptions for 400 yards and two touchdowns.

Barnett played a little D for the first four games, but Santiago opted to have Barnett focus on offense the rest of the season.

As a senior, Barnett will play both ways as a tight end and outside linebacker this fall. It is a good thing that Barnett will be lining up at linebacker for Santiago because some schools are looking for him as a defensive player.

"It doesn't matter where I play on the D-I level," Barnett said. "I would prefer to catch the ball, but I will play wherever I'm needed."