OL Austin Barry enjoying his recruitment process with ASU

The offer from Arizona State wasn’t one that Austin Barry was expecting but certainly an offer that the Riverside (Calif.) J.W. North offensive lineman was “looking forward to.” And now that it has arrived the Sun Devils are a program that has Barry’s undivided attention.

“I’ve always kind of been looking towards Arizona State since Herm Edwards got there,” Barry admitted. “I know he’s a really good guy, and that the coaching staff they have right now is up to some good things. I knew some people that have said some really good things about Arizona State. My grandparents are ready to move to the Prescott area so it’s a school that would be a neutral location for everyone to able to see my

games.

“I know that they (ASU) are on the rise, and then obviously you have Pat Tillman that went there so there’s some football legacy there too so.”

The fact that the Sun Devils have been a program that isn’t shy of playing young linemen, as evident in starting two true freshmen on their front five for most of the 2020 campaign, has been appealing to Barry who knows this is the type of program that could very well be conducive to receiving meaningful number of gameday snaps sooner rather than later.

“The offensive line coach really sees that I could possibly get some good amount of playing time in my freshman year,” Barry said. “So, overall this staff is super excited about me and I'm super excited about them. And there’s a lot of big names on that staff so being able to be coached by one of them would be really cool.”

The J.W. North standout said that ASU is pursuing him as an offensive tackle, but he sees himself as versatile enough to play in the interior of the line as well.

“I’m pretty long and I know how to move my body and get around on the field,” Barry described. “I’d say my biggest weakness right now is probably my strength. I’m not the strongest guy on the field but I know how to work my body and still put you in the ground.”

ASU’s co-defensive coordinator, Antonio Pierce was the Sun Devil coaching staff member who has been in the most with Barry to date and the coach who did deliver the scholarship offer last week. The offensive linemen stated that he enjoys building a relationship with Piece and other coaches at Arizona State.

“I think he’s a good guy,” Barry said of Pierce. “When we talked, he wanted to make sure I was still open before they offered me so I confirmed with him that I’m still open to anyone who comes. So, he told me that ‘we’re going to offer you. We hope that you can make a decision and hopefully become a Sun Devil.’

“I’ve also talked to coach (Kevin) Mawae. It’s not every day you’re saying you were coached by an NFL legend so I think that’s a really cool attribute to have in terms of the coaching staff.

When they offered me, I talked to the entire offensive staff… coach (Zak) Hill and coach Aguano. I also talked to coach Edwards for a bit and brought some good energy real quick to the conversation with me and my mom.”

Barry has been talking extensively as well with other Pac-12 schools such as Washington State, Colorado, Cal, UCLA, and Utah as well as Boise State and San Diego State.

“I could see myself choosing a Pac-12 school,” Barry remarked, “I think it’s safe to say that you’ll probably see me staying on the West Coast.”

Due to the fact that Barry is a shot put and discus thrower, along with the recruiting dead period being extended due to COVID-19, he hasn’t been able to visit any schools in-person. His track and field career has lasted twice as long as his football career and he feels as if both sports have had an equal effect on the other in improving his skills.

“I know, just from some research I’ve done, there’s a lot of NFL guys that have done track and field in high school,” Barry noted. “Football kind of gets you ready for track and track kind of gets you ready for football so I think they go together really well.”

Even with the uncertainty concerning the upcoming football season, Barry said that he wishes to make his decision by the end of summer. Like many other 2021 prospects, he’s anxious to take his in-person visits to get a clearer picture of which schools he prefers over the others, although sometime in June while the recruiting dead period will still be in effect he plans to release a shorter list of schools that he will concentrate on.

Even though the Sun Devils were not in Barry's Top-9 list of schools that he released less than a week ago, it's a program that can definitely now be considered as a college he has in serious consideration. When asked if ASU was a school that was possibly going to be among his future recruiting visits, Barry replied: “Oh yeah. Definitely.”

Barry's only in-person exposure to Arizona State thus far is watching the Sun Devils play San Diego State on the road.

“Well at the time I felt like ‘oh my god, these guys are huge’, Barry recalled, “but now it’s kind of the realization that I’m one of those big guys. They did their work and unfortunately that play call by the refs (targeting penalty on Frank Darby that was eventually also ruled as an incomplete pass) kind of messed them up but I mean they played their hearts out that game.”

Barry is scheduled to graduate in May of 2021 but he plans to sign his Letter of Intent in December of this year. If needed, he is undoubtedly ready to make his decision without visiting any of the colleges in consideration, and rely on virtual tours such as the one he’s scheduled to receive from ASU this week.

“Once I get through those tours,” Barry said, “It will be good enough to make a decision. I want the coaches that recruited me to still be there if I play there when I’m a senior, so that’s something that’s really appealing. In terms of environment, I want the school to be welcoming besides just having that program look good.

“I don’t think a lot of schools that I’m looking at are that way but I know some universities in terms of academics are that way. But I think football-wise, I’ll be fine whichever program I choose to go.”

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Jesse Morrison contributed to this article