Rivals250 LB Bo Barnes commits to Texas
Elijah “Bo” Barnes spent last weekend in Austin hanging out with the Texas coaches and team members. The visit made quite the impression, with Barnes announcing less than one week later that he has given the Longhorns a verbal commitment.
“Just talking with coach (Steve Sarkisian), they just showed so much love to me and my family,” Barnes told Orangebloods.com.
Barnes came to town last Saturday as part of the Longhorn City Limits recruiting event that saw a number of elite prospects make their way to Austin. He and his family would stay until Sunday, when they’d return to campus to get some more personalized time with the UT coaches.
“We met with coach Sark. Really, he was just saying he really wants me, that I’m a big priority to the Texas Longhorn staff,” Barnes said. “It’s just a great chance to go there and play there. There are a lot of opportunities on the table there.”
Barnes said his parents also enjoyed the visit.
“They thought it was great. They had a great time down there, just enjoyed it, talking with coaches, talking with Sark’s wife, things like that,” Barnes said.
Out of Dallas Skyline, Barnes is a Rivals250 member who had garnered more than 30 scholarship offers. He had plans to take upcoming visits to LSU and Texas A&M, as well as a handful of official visits, but ultimately decided he’d seen enough during his recruitment to call Texas home. He becomes the first commitment under new linebackers coach Johnny Nansen, who Barnes spent time with last weekend.
“I had gone into team meetings with coach Nansen and the linebacker group. I just kind of saw how coach Nansen talks to his players before heading out to practice and getting after it,” Barnes said. “It was a great experience how they get after it.
“I loved the intensity that they brought to the practice. They brought a lot of energy. It was fast-moving just the way they were competing with each other and wanting to get better. There was so much competition out there, so much talent on the field.”
Along with the coaches, the 6-1, 219-pound Barnes also spent a lot of time around current Texas team members during his visit last weekend, including fellow linebacker David Gbenda. The endorsement from the players helped lock up his commitment.
“I got together with Gbenda, was talking with him, hung out on Saturday night. He was just like, Texas is one of those dominant programs. He says I’m going to be a good player there. The coaches love their players and take care of them. That’s the biggest thing to me, being in a safe environment, being comfortable around the people you’re going to be around.”
Barnes had scheduled official visits to Texas, Ohio State, SMU and Nebraska but tells OB that he’ll only be taking his Texas visit. He ranks No. 130 on the Rivals250.