FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ Elite Camp on Thursday was a learning experience for safety- running back Alex Barnes.
Barnes, 6-0, 210, 4.48 seconds in the 40 yard dash, of Pittsburg, Kansas has scholarship offers from Kansas, Kansas State, Minnesota and Rutgers. The Hogs and numerous others are showing interest. Video highlights CLICK HERE
He received some tips from running back coach Joel Thomas and defensive backs coach Clay Jennings.
“I need to work on some little things,” said Barnes, who visited the Razorbacks for the April 26 spring game. “Coach Thomas was stressing with us like planting the outside foot and getting vertical immediately after the cut and I need to work a lot on defense because I’m really raw there. I need to work fundamentally like on the back pedal and coming in and out of breaks.”
Barnes, who rushed 150 times for 1,348 yards and 23 touchdowns as a junior, felt good about his performance.
”I learned a lot of new things at safety because they want to see me on defense,” Barnes said. “I thought I did pretty well in the running back drills.”
The Hog coaches gave him good feedback.
“They like my athletic ability, they think I’m a little raw fundamentally,” Barnes said. “They definitely like what I have like in the 40 and stuff.”
Most schools are recruiting Barnes as a safety.
“They think I have more potential in the secondary than I do offensively,” Barnes said.
Arkansas offensive line graduate assistant Eric Mateos is recruiting him and visited his school in January while the Hogs were going through some coaching changes. Barnes plans to take a break from recruiting.
“I’m just going to kind of lay back and just let the recruiting process play out,” Barnes said. “I’m going to take a couple visits to like Rutgers and Minnesota. I’m going to do that at the end of July.”