In my own words: Austin Barry
Under the radar perhaps the recruiting process with Riverside (Calif.) offensive lineman Austin Barry had a fair share of twists and turns before he ultimately inked his name with Arizona State. Barry shares switch us his football journey, which surprisingly began at an older than usual age, what led him to choose ASU over its Pac-12 foes and what are his expectations for his true freshman year in Tempe.
(This interview was conducted prior to Barry’s arrival on campus)
“I started playing football in the seventh grade. I just tried out for a local team and made it on the team, and I was able to play offense and defense. That was a lot of fun, and that’s when I got my first taste. My mom knew that I liked football and that I wanted to compete in it, so the very next year, she put me on one of the best teams in the country, the IE Ducks, and that year, we went undefeated. We faced off in the AYS national championship against the other top team in the country, the Ft. Lauderdale Hurricanes, and lost in an overtime battle. But that was one of the biggest things in my career then, having that experience.
“And then translating into high school, we started trying to see where the best fit was. So, I had to transfer districts to get to John W. North because I knew the track coaches and the football coaches at the time; they were family friends. So, it was a good starting culture to be around. As a freshman, I already had good size being around 6-3ish. Playing on the freshmen team, I got to play in two freshmen games. When the varsity team had injuries along the line, they decided to bring me up, and I played the rest of the season on varsity. We did not make the playoffs, but I still was happy I got the varsity experience.
“So, at that point, I’m starting to go to more football camps, and starting to watch college football more and scoping out where I want to go. In one of those camps, that’s where I met Herm Edwards for the first time, and I got to take pictures with him and stuff like that. In my sophomore year, they told me I was going to start again. We made it to the playoffs, lost in the first round, but I had fun with that. That season I got to learn a bit more and grow a bit more out and was starting to play even better. I started again in my junior year, and that's when my recruiting really jumpstarted having that junior film, starting every game and getting pretty deep into the playoffs. So, I was blessed for that. We were playing some nationally ranked teams like (Anaheim), and I held my own against their guys. So, I had good junior film to show colleges. I couldn’t go to any camps because of COVID-19, but coaches saw my film and were contacting me.
“Fresno State, Nevada, and Washington all came to see me on campus, right before the COVID shutdown. So, I knew I started to get some looks. Things shut down on March 13, and a week after, we got the first call from a college. My mom just went to the casino that day just to have some fun and get out of the house because the casinos were still open. And I was sitting at home playing video games, and I got that first call from Sacramento State. It was a relief to finally get that first offer, and now you want to get more offers because now you're hungry and seeing what you can get. So, when I got that offer, I called my mom, and she was happy and said, ‘you want me to turn around?’ I was like, ‘No, you're fine. Go have fun.’ I told all my friends and told the school, and that was super cool.
“The very first sport I played was soccer, and I did it for about seven years, starting at age three. After soccer, I got into basketball for a couple of years and then track; I started track in elementary school. I knew I always wanted to do football, but it's just that I've always been exploring other sports, and then we're always worried about concussions and wanted to try to avoid that at a young age. I did track up until my senior year of high school, and I always felt that doing football and track worked out well because they complement each other. I was definitely always the tallest kid until I got to high school but not always the biggest one. When I was younger, I was doing some running, sprint events, but mainly it was shot putting and discus. In high school, I did just shot put and discus.
“My very first conversation with a coach from ASU was with (former offensive analyst) Kevin Mawae telling me that they (ASU) was looking at my film and will let me know if they were going to offer. Then I talked to (defensive coordinator) coach Antonio Pierce, and he was really cool. I also started talking to coach Adam Breneman and coach (Chris Hawkins), and we started to develop a bond, and I also developed a bond with other ASU recruits, like Finn Collins and Isaiah Glass …we were hanging out online playing video games.
“The ASU coaches told me what they liked about my film and went over with me about plays that were on my highlight reel. I liked that because they weren’t just pulling stuff out of their ass when they said what they liked about my game. Even though other schools did that, too, that's just something that stood out immediately about Arizona State. And then the energy that ASU brings, especially the coach Edwards. All the coaches are always lively people. It doesn't seem like there's ever a down moment in their tone of voice or character. So that's something I really like because that's pretty much the energy level has been around.
“When I researched ASU, one thing I really liked about it is that it reminded me a lot about Southern California where I live having lots of palm trees, not very hilly, but there are a lot of mountain sceneries in the background, and doesn't have boring sky for miles. It's part of a bigger city in Phoenix, and where I'm from, the Riverside area, we’re 45 minutes away from L.A. So, if I ever wanted to go to the city, I go city and have fun and all that kind of stuff. I like that the buildings were located on campus because I know the football facility and stadium itself are attached, and then just across the road, they have the practice fields, which are nice.
“It was a little weird being recruited by coaches who are no longer on staff after I signed with the school, but (offensive line) coach Cavanaugh is great. I like the energy with him, and I know he's an experienced coach. So, I’m happy. I'm not complaining because either way, I'm still gonna get out there and be ready to work no matter who the coach is. I like coach Cavanaugh, and I know it will be fun playing for him.
“On the first phone call I got from him, he asked me, ‘is your family with you? I want to introduce myself to them since I'm gonna be your coach.’ And so, he's able to introduce himself, told my mom about his coaching experience, where he's been what he's done so that we can get a feel for how he is as a coach. And then immediately after that, he went to just talking about daily things, and it was a casual conversation, and we're able to bond pretty well. And then outside of that, we got straight into football. And that's what I like, is getting down to business, and we've already had my first install of the playbook, and it's all familiar to me. He makes it really easy to understand. And I like the way he is overall. After the first conversation, I was like, ‘Okay, so this is how it’s going to be, and I like that.’
“Coach Cavanagh likes that I’m a physical player, and he sees me as an offensive tackle. I know, in one of the interviews that he's done in the past, he said that, and he likes linemen that are good with their feet and hands. I know I still need to work on the hands a bit, but I got good feet, and I can get around and move.
“Towards the end of the recruiting process, it was down to ASU and UCLA. It was hard because I'm not super indecisive as a person. But when it comes to two schools that I really wanted to go to, it got pretty hard finding something that, no matter how small it was, just separates one from the other. And so, there were a good couple of months where it was UCLA or ASU going back and forth in my head which one I was going to pick. And at one point, I was almost gonna commit to UCLA; I'm not gonna lie. But then I was like, ‘wait, but ASU has all this.’ So, it was hard. I remember I was at my dad's place having a conversation with the coaches from both schools, and they were talking to my dad too. And so, once they talked to my family, and I was to see how they were feeling about those schools and that helped me make my decision. I liked the energy that ASU had with my family. And they're always bringing big smiles out of my family when they were talking to them. I’m not going to say that the ultimate decision came down to a battle over my family or anything like that. It’s just that I really enjoyed how my family was able to react with all the ASU coaches and what they told them.
“ASU originally wanted me to sign in February (of 2021) and not in December. It definitely was a little stressful, even though I don't think looking back on it, it would have been a big deal if I did sign in February. It's just that that fear of uncertainty, just making sure you got that spot on the team, and you're locked up, and you don't have to worry about anything else. You can go focus on school and work and other things. So, it was kind of that moment where it's like, ‘crap, now I have to worry about finding the place I want to go to now and all that.’ So, I’m happy I didn’t have to wait until February or potentially not signing and knowing that I had that spot on the team.
“That whole week of signing day was hectic. I know literally on the day of signing day; Stanford offered me and was trying to get into the mix. They were saying, ‘well, you will have to wait till February so we can get you through admissions. But I just didn't want to deal with it anymore. Like I said earlier, I just wanted to get the spot locked in and be able to finish school and not worry about it. So even with Stanford, and I will say when I was younger, Stanford was a dream school and was the first college I actually liked, they came too late into the process, and I was sold on ASU already so much that it wouldn't have made a difference.
“I know as soon as I get there to ASU, I need to get to work to catch up with the other guys because I wanted to try and get out of there in January to get to work, but unfortunately, some issues with the school district made it so that it couldn't happen. I know I need to get ready as fast as I can. And I've been looking forward to that nutrition plan. I’m sitting at about 290 and trying to maintain that. Working out during COVID has been hard, but I was able to maintain my strength. But I also know that I'm definitely not the strongest, so that's another thing I’m looking forward to is getting bigger.
“I know as soon as I get out there, I'm working hard and getting ready for any opportunity.”
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