Virginia Tech’s class of 2015 recruiting has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride thus far. The latest twist came this evening, when 4-star defensive end Michael Barnett de-committed from the Hokies. Barnett, a 6’4″, 245-pound junior out of Woodland High School (Dorchester, S.C.), had been a Tech commitment since late November of 2013.
Barnett had offers from Florida and Florida State at the time of his commitment to Virginia Tech. Last night he landed an offer from Alabama, fueling speculation that the Crimson Tide scholarship is a big reason why he is backing away from Tech. The talented defensive end took to Twitter this evening to try and clear the air.
“It is not because Alabama offered that I [de-committed] let’s make that clear now!,” Barnett wrote.
Barnett has indicated that Virginia Tech remains in the running for his signature. In addition to the new offer from Alabama as well as the previous offers from Florida and Florida State, the Palmetto State standout also has scholarship offers from Clemson, N.C. State, and Tennessee.
TSL plans to have more from Barnett himself in the coming days, so stay tuned. Virginia Tech now has three commitments in the class of 2015, and all three prospects are projected to play cornerback. Virginia Tech also received a commitment from Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) defensive back Marcus Lewis back in November, but Lewis quickly backed off and reopened his recruitment.
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Lets move on. He is not comeing to VT. We always do the preliminary assessment for Alabama and once we offer Nick is quick to follow. It is what it is. We just don’t have the resume that Alabama or Ohio State has when it comes to competing for 4 and 5 star recruits.
“We always do the preliminary assessment for Alabama and once we offer Nick is quick to follow.” no kidding.
Help me out here….What does “scholarship” mean. Is that a code word for players getting paid by boosters under the table and their High School coaches as well? If that’s the meaning of “scholarship” than I understand why two win schools can get five star players from the 757. Just wondering what the alleged scholarship means nothing more.
Going, going, gone! I wonder if some of these “students” understand the meaning of the word commitment? A bigger fish came along and he changed his mind. Disappointing but nothing anyone can do about it. Must drive the coaches nuts from a recruiting perspective. A man’s word should be his word but in today’s world that has little meaning. Changing times where values are out the door!
Ok where is the requisite follow-up comment about these guys being kids and making a commitment at this age is soooo tough for them. Pffft, there is no shortage of people that went to Tech that made commitments at that age and stuck to them because they did just that… made a commitment.
I say “Amen” VT Rockie.
You will NOT hear that from me. I hope he winds up here, but I am not holding my breath, not too concerned about it one way or the other. I have a lot more to say on the subject, but they say these kids read message boards, so I’ll leave it at that.
I SURE wouldn’t slow down recruiting others and making offers either, and I’m sure the coaches have learned THAT lesson by now!
Don’t be bitter. This kid’s life and future is on the line. Only your enjoyment of football is on the line.
If he thinks a better option is out there before he makes a written agreement, more power to him.
People need to not be so hard. These top recruits have a lot of pressure on them. I am sure sometimes they get caught up in the moment. To me, a very early committment means nothing more than I am very, very, interested in coming to your school. The recruitment by VT has to continue for these kids. All the blather about honoring your word, etc. is a bit over the top for the kids. How many of you guys told some hot girl at a keg party how committed you were to her that night, until the next morning? Just sayin…………….
It’s all so stupid that we even talk about commitments over a year out. It’s going to change. It’s just dumb. If you are not going to have an early signing period why even allow verbal “commitments”? Seems no value add to me.
Not that it matters, but the one thing I tried to do right was NOT misrepresent myself any time..If a young lady left a keg party with me knew exactly where she stood (as did I, in the interest of fairness).
I learned to honor my word BEFORE I ever got to VT. If not then, when? I don’t particularly care one way or the other, but to excuse it because they are only “kids” is a cop out IMO (and that is ONLY my opinion). I’m just tired of VT being used as the “date just in case”….and too often, that is exactly what it is. It is NOT unique to this years kids, or last years kids, or NEXT years kids, but it will never sit well with me.
I have absolutely no problem with a junior in high school changing his mind 11 1/2 months from signing day. This is a big decision for him, and he wants to get it right. We don’t know what’s going on in his life, so cut the young man some slack. And, by the way, jumping all over a recruit surely isn’t the way to make him feel like we’d welcome him into the Hokie Family.
Then why commit. If these kids r not 100 % committed then they should not commit. We base our recruiting based on the commits we have at a point in time. Please don’t commit unless u r sure.
It is not because Alabama offered that I [de-committed] let’s make that clear now!,” Barnett wrote. Yeah right. It’s because you weren’t raised to be a man of your word. Your commitment means NOTHING! My Dad would have kicked my ass, then made me call Coach Beamer and apologize and re-commit. What part of the word “COMMIT” don’t these kids understand? If you aren’t sure, keep your mouth shut until you are! And don’t give me that “oh, they’re only kids” crap. Their moral fiber is largely in-place at this point. I really blame these decommits on parents and teachers who obviously aren’t doing the kids justice. I really wish Tech would decline to take a decommit from another school. That would send a message that we don’t want that type of person (except in unusual circumstances like to be near an ailing parent, coaching change, etc.). Rant complete….Happy VD Day! 😉
I read this comment somewhere before…
Sounds like your Dad was a good man.
I agree-VT should do like Bama -offer a great amount of ships&those that agree to come will get the ship
i’m working on my shocked face…
Like I said, 16 and 17 year old kids change their mind. Imagine that!
No they have no appreciation for what commitment means and were not brought up to believe that your word is everything. Age is a weak excuse, IMHO.
79 did you ever have a first girlfriend? Did you marry her? This kid came out and responded saying he wasn’t specifically going to UA. You have no idea what kind of support structure the guy has, or what his background is. College tuition, if that’s his only opportunity to advance, is going to cause most of us to commit. He also likely didn’t want to disappoint the VT coaches. Shit happens move on.
Agreed… worry about the national debt…not Mr. Barnett. He will figure out what is best for him.
Better than NSD! Let’s hope he does his due-diligence and recommits to our Hokie Family later! I don’t think you should be mad at the kid because, this is the system created by the NCAA n CFB! They need an early signing period so you don’t have all the flips that happened this past year! But also, we need to be careful we don’t miss the kids that blow up their Senior seasons, which happens more than you think. Some kids just mature later physically and mentally. If they put in an early period and the later date, I personally think it would clean up some, but not all the flipping. I think it’s a shame this happens, but better now than later. At least Bama wants kids we can get. The trick is keeping them, but I’m not giving up on Michael! Again, at least he didn’t wait til NSD and leave us in a crunch. Be positive Hokie Family!
I stll feel Hokienation is rising!!!
All I need is one sentence and no pictures of decommits. Lets not waste time on them.
Agreed! Schollie rescinded!
R U taking yur toys & going home?
They want to commit early NCAA needs to make them sign a LOI. Tired of this circus act.
I wonder if you can really count on high school juniors’ commitments? It all seems too early in the recruiting cycle for these kids to have a definite idea where they are going to school.
You are 100% correct! Unless you are a true fan of that school as a child growing up I can understand an early commitment. If you are an out of state kid you really don’t have a clue so early in the game about committing so why set yourself up for all the drama just wait, if you are sure about your abilities the offer will still be there later….smh
Oh goodie, we now get to be scouts for Saban. Yeah! We find em, Saban decides maybe we shouldn’t have em, Saban wins. Young man will end up transferring. If never wanted and only wanted after offer, yeah, not in their plans. Opportunity? Sure thing. Assured of a spot? Not so much. Good luck to him.
He didn’t commit to Alabama…
If he isn’t totally sure, I am glad he is re-opening now rather than later. He is being honest with our coaches.
I agree, I would rather he be up front now and VT can get out and recruit More players for this position. VT has a habit of putting their eggs in one basket. Look at last year .