SoCal OL Austin Barry commits to ASU as the Sun Devils’ 18th pledge
Recruits want to wait right now. They really do. But they’ve been waiting for months and their no more sure than they were in March when official visits might again be possible or, heck, if college football is going to get played. And, so, they commit to secure a spot, whether or not they’ve ever seen the school they’re pledging their next four years to.
Austin Barry, a three-star offensive lineman with an imposing 6-foot-6, 270-pound frame understood all that.
No official visits until who knows when. Regular self-guided visits, though, those were fine. So Barry and his family loaded up in their car for an old fashioned college road trip.
From his home in Riverside, Calif. about three weeks ago, Barry trekked first out to Tempe to check out Arizona State’s campus then hit the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and finished up taking a self-guided tour around the UCLA campus and the Rose Bowl in nearby Southern California.
Barry’s first visit stuck out.
“I really liked what I saw. It’s an evolving campus, so there were buildings under construction and everything,” Barry said of ASU, adding that he didn’t tell coaches he was going. Knowing he couldn’t meet with them in person, he just asked for recommendations when he arrived. “I really liked it and enjoyed it.”
Barry enjoyed Tempe enough to pledge his commitment to the Sun Devils tonight.
“He’s going to bring his ‘A’ game every week, and he’s going to take care of his business,” said Dennis Brown, Barry’s coach at J.W. North High. “He’s an athlete, and it shows. He can carry his frame and move around pretty well.”
Becoming Arizona State’s 18th commit in the 2021 class, Barry joins four other offensive linemen -- Marcus Mbow (Wisc.), Isaiah World (Calif.), Charles Armstrong (Fla.) and Isaia Glass (Ari.) -- who are all three-star prospects and 6-foot-5 or taller.
Despite the significant distance separating Barry and his future teammates, they’re grown close virtually. Mbow -- along with ASU commits Garrett Gillette and Finn Collins -- started a Snapchat group chat to help build relationships between ASU’s commits and highly-recruited prospects. They named it “Skrilla” and use it as a type of communication tool to help dictate their futures.
“That’s kind of what me and Marcus (Mbow) have been talking about,” Barry said. “Like, ‘Yo, if you want to go to ASU, let me know. We can team up and get one of the best O-lines in the Pac-12.’ I was like, ‘Sounds like a deal.’”
Mbow announced his decision on Thursday. Less than a week later, Barry kept his end of the bargain.
“To have other guys like me with the same intentions going to the same place,” Barry said, “that’s going to be pretty dangerous, I think, for the next couple of years.”
Recruiting analyst, Cody Cameron said that aside from the requisite length that the ASU staff has established in recruiting lemme on both ends of the ball, in Barry, the Sun Devils also get a technically sound player.
“On film we see Barry strike defensive-linemen violently through the chest plate on the snap of the football,” Cameron said, “driving his feet until they’re buried in the dirt. One of the most impressive things about Barry’s tape is his pass blocking technique. In pass protection sets, Barry has a great athletic base with his feet. He does not lunge forward at defensive linemen, and he keeps his hands inside the defender.
“The plays at the 1:40 and 2:45 mark are perfect examples of Barry’s solid footwork and strong hands in pass sets. This is a player who right-handed quarterbacks can trust in protecting their blind spots from the left tackle position. That’s about as valuable a trait as you can possibly have as a left tackle, and Austin Barry possesses that trait.”
Barry admitted he felt a sense of investment to the ASU program prior to committing, adding that the relationships he built with other ASU commits and their conversations about teaming up in Tempe was a major selling point.
Like most recruits, Barry viewed his decision as one based upon comfort. It’s why he wanted to check out his suitors' campuses. It’s why he engaged in conversations about the future with other recruits. And it’s why he took his relationship with coaches so seriously.
In a recruiting effort led by graduate assistant Adam Breneman and offensive analyst Kevin Mawae, the Sun Devil coaches helped put Barry at ease.
“Coach Mawae is a great guy," Barry said. "He’s a Hall of Famer and all that, but, as a man, he’s really good…Coach Adam Breneman, he was a recruit himself, so he understands the process and can relate to what you’re going through.
“Then coach Herm Edwards, the energy he brings, you can’t help but get excited by it. It just flows through you once you get it from him.”
The funny thing is, Brown doesn’t think Barry lacks much energy. Last season for North, Brown said, the 6-foot-6, 270-pound offensive line oozed confidence that seemed to put a sense of zen into everyone around him. He was always the one to work hardest; his actions are often proving his leadership and character.
An example: Brown always encourages his players to participate in a second sport. Over the years, the contingent that diversified has dwindled. Not Barry. On top of competing in the shot put and discuss, he trained with the North’s sprinters in the offseason to bolster his speed.
“That’s just his work ethic,” Brown said. “He realized that’s going to make him better in football. We have a great track coach, and (Barry) just took advantage of learning some form and technique, and then it’s going to carry over into everything else I do.”
And that’s Barry. He looks down the line, how his actions in the moment can impact his future. And, so, he’ll work with the sprinters. He’ll drive out to college campuses to become informed. He’ll do whatever is necessary.
And now, he’ll continue that in Tempe.
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