'09 IA OL David Barrent (Michigan State Verbal)

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West Des Moines (IA) Valley

Height: 6-foot-7
Weight: 285 lbs

IowaPreps.com - 15 Iowans to watch in 2009

David Barrent - West Des Moines Valley - Lineman
At 6-foot-7, 275 pounds, Barrent has the size that college coaches will be looking for at the next level. He stepped into the starting lineup this past fall for the Tigers and ended up making an impact. As he gets older and his body develops, expect big things out of Barrent at the next level. College coaches will be keeping a close eye on him.

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2/13

From the Iowa site...Iowa and Illinois have offered. Went to Iowa's junior day and will visit Kansas and Northwestern in the coming weeks. MSU, Minnesota and ISU are also showing interest.

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3/13

From O&B News...has offers from Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Northwestern and Minnesota. Visiting Champaign this weekend and talks about his connection with Coach Mallory.

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3/24

By Crabtree...talks about what makes him such a great OL prospect. Has offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Northwestern, Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan State. Talks about his interest in the two home state schools and also talks about his visits to Illinois and Northwestern.

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4/1

From the Iowa site...talks about his visits to Illinois and Iowa this past weekend. Has offers from Iowa, Illinois, Iowa State, Northwestern, Minnesota, Michigan State and Nebraska and hopes to decide before his senior season.

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4/5

From the Nebraska site...has offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Nebraska, Minnesota, Northwestern, Illinois and Michigan State. Talks about his strengths and what he is improving on this off-season. Has been invited to several spring games and is trying to decide which ones he will attend.

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4/23

From the Minnesota site...talks about his visit last weekend to see a scrimmage at Minnesota. Talks about his impressions of the Minnesota staff and about meeting some other Minnesota recruits.

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hawk central | Hawkeye Football

There were some built-in advantages for the Iowa football program when the Hawkeyes started their recruitment of David Barrent.

His grandparents graduated from Iowa. His father is a Hawkeye fan. He's been attending games in Kinnick Stadium and picturing himself wearing the black and gold uniform for years.

"That's something I really like visualizing," Barrent said Saturday. "It's really exciting for me to think I'll be one of the guys running out of that tunnel."

The 6-foot-8, 290-pound junior from West Des Moines Valley verbally committed to the Hawkeyes, putting an end to his thorough three-month study of several programs that were seeking the services of the highly regarded offensive lineman.

Barrent -- rated a four-star prospect on a five-star scale by Rivals.com and Scout.com -- selected Iowa over scholarship offers from Illinois, Michigan State, Northwestern, Minnesota, Iowa State and Nebraska.

"I really like coach (Kirk) Ferentz, I really like (offensive line) coach (Reese) Morgan and I really like what they do with the offensive linemen and their history with linemen going further in their careers," Barrent said. "I just like what Iowa has to offer for me."

Barrent said he entered the recruiting process with an open mind about other schools. He did his homework on all of the programs pursuing him, too.

"I went to probably three or four different junior days," Barrent said. "I went to Illinois twice on unofficial visits and talked to all of the coaching staff on those. I went to Michigan State for a day, I went over to Northwestern a couple times and I went up to Minnesota, so I've been around, and I've been in contact with all of the coaches.

"I've been around and I've been talking to everybody, and I've been evaluating things with my parents, and we talk about it and we've been thinking about it. We decided Iowa is the best fit for me, and that's why I'm going there."

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Top Hawk recruit backs out | press-citizen.com | Iowa City Press Citizen

David Barrent verbally committed to Iowa in May, selecting the college football program he grew up rooting for and visualizing a day soon to come when he would run out of the Kinnick Stadium tunnel wearing a black jersey and play in front of a sellout crowd.

Barrent will likely still get that opportunity to play in Kinnick Stadium, but it looks as if he'll be wearing a different uniform and coming out of the visiting locker room.

The highly regarded offensive lineman from West Des Moines Valley backed out of his commitment to the Hawkeyes and announced Monday that he's headed to Michigan State.

"He called me Sunday night and told me he was going to de-commit (and commit) to Michigan State," Valley coach Gary Swenson said. "We didn't talk for a long time on the phone. I said, 'Are you sure? What's behind this?' He said he's been having second thoughts, and Michigan State was his second choice all along and he wanted to make the switch."

Barrent, a 6-foot-8, 290-pound offensive tackle prospect, is ranked by Rivals.com as the top player in the state and the No. 7 player in the country at his position. His change of plans leaves Ohio running back Brad Rogers as the only known commitment in Iowa's class of 2009.

"After I committed, about a month or so ago, I started to have some reservations," Barrent told Rivals.com. "Then I opened up to my parents that I was thinking about changing my mind. After lots of talking and thinking, I just decided Michigan State was the better fit for me in the long run."

"I was surprised," Swenson said of Barrent's reversal. "I told him when he made his first decision that you have to go with your heart when you make a decision like this. He's really a thoughtful kid, he weighs out everything. Academics were really important to him in who he talked to and who he was looking at. I know he ranked Michigan State and their engineering program right up there."

The Spartans may have had another advantage. Michigan State offensive line coach Dan Roushar and Barrent's father, Rich, were college teammates at Northern Illinois.

Barrent originally picked the Hawkeyes over Michigan State, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa State and Nebraska. He informed the Iowa coaches of his decision Monday.

"They weren't happy, obviously," Barrent told Rivals.com. "They just said that I had to do what's best for me. They left the door open for me to change my mind again, but I don't think that's going to happen. I have great respect for those guys and the program, but I felt this was the best for me."