The Recruiting Guy

Barnett uncommon on and off the field

Jalin Barnett

Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema’s well known slogan of 'uncommon men' reflects his desire to find talented prospects with good character to join the program.

Thanks to his upbringing by his grandparents., Lawton, Okla. offensive lineman Jalin Barnett fits the mold.

“They’ve taught me to stay on top of my grades, my appearance, how I appear in public,” said Barnett, who plans to officially visit Arkansas Sept. 19-21.“If you’re a trashy dresser, then people just think of trash and like going around being loud, people don’t like that.”

Barnett, 6-4, 305 pounds, has more than 50 scholarship offers from schools that include Arkansas, Alabama, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oklahoma State, Auburn, Stanford and Tennessee.

CBS Sports Network national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming rates Barnett a four-star-plus prospect and as the No. 36 overall recruit in the nation.

"He has terrific footwork and when he gets his hands in you, it's all over," Lemming said."He excels in pass protection, can mirror and slide with the best of them, very light on his feet, shows good agility, has natural knee bend and is an overall dominating offensive lineman."

Off the field, Barnett has a 3.8 grade point average in the classroom.

“He’s a very respectful and humble young man,” Lawton Coach Randy Breeze said in an earlier interview.

He and Lawton offensive coordinator Ryan Breeze visited Fayetteville on June 13. His grandparents, Michael and Charlotte Burse, will accompany him on the upcoming trip.

“I love them, they’ve just been there for me since I was born, between family issues,” Barnett said. “They’ve just been there helping me with football.”

Barnett, who lists Arkansas and Oklahoma as his top two schools, plans to officially visit Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon and an unnamed school.

He watched the Hogs’ game against Auburn and liked the offensive line style of play.

“Just coming off the ball and just hitting people,” Barnett said.

His favorite part of line play is pancaking the defender. Barnett graded at 93 percent and had 6 knock downs and 7 pancake blocks, including one that involved driving the strong safety 10 yards into the end zone in last week’s game.

“Yeah, he was playing dirty,” said Barnett of the safety.

Barnett isn’t one to talk trash and lets his play do his talking while ignoring taunting from the opponent.

“I just target them,” Barnett said. “I don’t let it bother me. I put in work.”