Recruiting on the South Plains | Port Arthur Memorial S Jalen Barnes Commits to Texas Tech

PLAYER: Jalen Barnes

POSITION: Safety
HEIGHT: 6'0"
WEIGHT: 181
FORTY: 4.60-4.77
HIGH SCHOOL: Memorial (Port Arthur, TX)
VIDEO: Clip 1
RECRUITING SERVICES: Rivals 5.4 | Scout | ESPN 72 | 24/7 Sports 86
CUMULATIVE RANKING: 64.00
VTM PROFILE DATE: January 23, 2013

OFFERS | Barnes has a pretty long list of offers: Houston, Iowa St., La. Tech, LA Lafayette, Mississippi St., North Texas, Oklahoma St., San Jose St., Tulsa and Utah. Again, that's a lot of offers, some big schools mixed in with some smaller schools. As mentioned above, his 24/7 Sports profile notes that he was committed to Iowa St., decommitted, then committed to Houston for two days, and then decommitted and then went to visit Texas Tech last weekend.

STATS | This past year, Barnes had 54 tackles, one interception and 5 pass break-ups. His Hudl video said that he had 49 tackles, 4 tackles for loss and 3 interceptions as a junior.

THE PLAYER SPEAKS | Nothing (again, I may have to take out this portion as all of the services are going free), although the article linked above had this:

Barnes said Tuesday that he'd wait to make his next decision until National Signing Day on Feb. 6. Early playing time was the issue that set things in motion. After the Iowa State coaching staff told Barnes they would redshirt him next season, he told them he'd be looking at other schools. Barnes has visited both the University of Houston and Texas Tech and said that the Red Raiders are his top choice out of those two right now. Both schools are looking at him as a safety.

I don't know if Barnes will get immediate playing time, but if he does, it will be at safety as that's a pretty thin position. I will add that Barnes confirmed his commitment on his Twitter page and safeties coach Trey Haverty tweeted this last night and Barnes re-tweeted:

Great news for the Red Raiders tonight! Good night to the world

— Trey Haverty (@TreyHaverty) January 23, 2013

SCOUTING REPORT | Barnes has good size already for a safety, although the biggest question is obviously his speed. A safety that runs a 4.60 or 4.77 is worrisome. I don't have a lot to add to that, but he looks to be faster than 4.77 and closer to 4.60, but I know that I'm biased.

When I first started watching the film, I was worried as it was taking a long time for him to get to the line of scrimmage, but he's running all the way from the free safety spot. Barnes hits well, but he's going to have to work on technique and wrapping-up. Hitting is great and all, but if you don't wrap-up, it's bad news in the Big 12 and you'll get run over.

If Barnes only had 54 tackles, then all 54 may be in that film. In terms of ratings, that's probably about right. There were few times that the video showed Barnes in coverage or playing in centerfield, so it's tough to get a handle on his speed. There was an instance where he ran down an opposing running back, but I didn't like the angle. I think Barnes is raw, and if he really did have a significant growth-spurt from his junior to senior year, then I can certainly see how this makes sense and if he grows into his body, then I could see him playing next year. He looks like he is still figuring hot his running stride as it seems like it could be longer. The other thing that I would add is if Haverty was in on Barnes, then I'm more comfortable because Haverty and TCU have a great reputation of developing safeties.

Jalen, welcome to Texas Tech and Git Your Guns Up!

The 2013 Class | Just to calm your fears, Texas Tech is still pretty much on pace with what Texas Tech did last year, just not the volume.