The Vols have been high on his list all along, and he said they’re now in his “top three,” along with Virginia Tech and Michigan State, following his latest trip to Knoxville. “It felt good. It definitely felt good,” said Barrow. “I was happy I came. I was excited to come back. It felt definitely good.” Barrow said he has been on Tennessee’s radar since January, and he “was real happy” when he finally got an offer from the Vols less than a month ago “because that’s one of my top schools I want to go to.” Saturday’s visit did nothing to change that. “It’s just the coaches, basically. I love the coaches,” said Barrow, who holds offers from more than a dozen schools.
“Coach (Chris) Rumph, he’s a great dude,” Barrow added, referring to Tennessee’s co-defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach. “(Defensive line) coach (Tracy) Rocker, he’s a great dude. I just like the coaching staff.” Barrow said he has felt that way about Tennessee since he got his first look at the Vols earlier this year. “It’s just because, when I first went there, it’s just that feeling I had, like, ‘Man I belong here,’” he said. “I had a good feeling about that school that I didn’t have at other schools I had visited. “I had never had that feeling — only for Tennessee.”
He said the Vols “definitely” liked what they saw from him, too, during Saturday’s camp. “One-on-ones, I dang near went undefeated and I won a lot of times,” Barrow said, "so they definitely liked that.” Barrow said Tennessee has expressed interest in potentially playing him at outside linebacker in its 3-4 base defense and on the defensive line. But after arriving late at Saturday’s camp, he said he only got to work with Rocker at the Vols’ camp. “They worked me out at, like, D-end, outside linebacker and D-tackle. And when we went to one-on-ones, I was just at D-end and tackle, but mostly at D-end,” Barrow said.
“To be honest, they want me at outside linebacker. But, then again, they were like, they might be working me at D-tackle, too. They want me rushing the end at D-tackle. But it depends on how I grow, basically. If I don’t grow that much — if I stay the same size — they’ll play me at outside linebacker. And if I do grow, I’m going at tackle or D-end.”
Barrow said he spoke with Rumph, Rocker and Tennessee head coach
Jeremy Pruitt after the camp. “When I was doing the one-on-ones, (Pruitt) just told me he wanted me to work on some stuff — like, put my hand in the dirt, because I was in a two-point stance at first,” Barrow said. "He said put my hand in the dirt, because normally they want me in a two-point stance. But I’d rather have my hand in the dirt, anyway. “I got to talk with all of them, to be honest with you — Coach Rumph, Coach Pruitt, Coach Rocker — all of them. We just sat down and talked. They want me to come back down in July for a barbecue, and they want me to set up this official visit.”
Virginia Tech already has hosted Barrow on a couple of visits, and he said he’s scheduled to travel to Michigan State this weekend on his first official visit. He said he also plans to attend a camp Wednesday at South Carolina, which has shown interest in him. He said he’s visiting the Spartans because “they were pretty much the first people that offered me.”
“They were my second offer, and they kept on keeping in contact with me,” Barrow said. “All their defensive coaches came up to me, to my school — a long way — and it meant a lot. Their defensive coordinator and defensive line coach — a lot of coaches came up to see me. “They’re showing me how much they need me, so I definitely want to visit up there, because that’s a great school, too.” If everything goes according to plan, Barrow will decide on a college within the next couple of months. “I’m definitely making a decision before my season,” he said.