Mark Barnes

[Champion10]

I read on rivals that ND has some interest in a junior athelete from South Carolina. However I think it may be tough for ND to pull him away from Spurrier but it says that Weis knows his head coach really well.

 

[LuckoftheIrish86]

hmmm interesting...keep us updated if you find out more

 

[jiggafini19]

Barnes Storms Through Recruiting Scene
Pete Sampson

Pulling Mark Barnes out of South Carolina won't be easy.

The wide receiver, who rates among the nation's Top 100 juniors, has been to a handful of South Carolina games this year and growing up in Columbia puts Barnes smack in the middle of the Gamecocks' revival under Steve Spurrier. Considering the inherent difficulties that come with relocating Southeastern Conference talent to South Bend, Notre Dame could us an "in" to draw Barnes to the Midwest.

Fortunately for the Irish, they've got one.

At Richland Northeast High School Barnes plays for head coach Jay Frye, whose career included a graduate assistant stop at South Carolina in the mid-80's. That's where Frye first crossed paths with Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis, who was also a graduate assistant Joe Morrison's staff in Columbia.

"Nobody works any harder than Charlie," Frye said. "He's got a great mind."

Frye hasn't spoken with Weis about Barnes, but Notre Dame has contacted the Richland Northeast coach about his star receiver. Barnes already holds about 15 offers including ones from Georgia, Auburn and South Carolina. Barnes planned to make a visit to Notre Dame on Oct. 15 for the Southern California game, but the trip didn't fit with his schedule.

"Hopefully Mark can get up (to Notre Dame) for a couple visits," Frye said. "Right now I'd say that South Carolina is at the top of his list. They've gone a super job already in recruiting him, and with the proximity, he's gone to most of the games this year."

It's not hard to understand why programs as far away as Notre Dame are already looking into the 6-foot-3, 180-pound Barnes. Even though his opportunities for statistical success are limited by Richland Northeast's run-first offense, Barnes has had his share of big moments. Last weekend in the first round of the playoffs Barnes made six catches for about 200 yards including 60- and 80-yard touchdowns.

"Looking at the other night, maybe we should have thrown the ball a little more," Frye laughed. "He's one of the best athletes we've had. He's special."

For the season, Frye estimated that Barnes has about 450 yards receiving and averaged about 20 yards per catch. Barnes also leads Richland Northeast with four interceptions from the free safety spot.

"He's a great open-field tackler too," Frye said. "He's instinctive and can do things that you can't coach. He runs very solid routes and is a big, strong kid. He doesn't have breakaway speed, but he's one of those kids with great hands. He can make any catch."

 

[jiggafini19]

Steve Spurrier will have things up and running soon down there.

Mention the Redskins and I'll simply laugh at you. This man is a tremendous college coach. Of the three Florida schools, he was the one running a clean program. Zook ruined that and Urban is cleaning it up again (OFF the field).

Say what you will about The Visor. His success at the collegiate level speaks for itself.

 

[scooper]

I agree. He'll do a great job down there. He already is. With the suspensions and guys leaving, SC is not 7-3 talented. And they could have tanked after starting 0-3. You know the recruits will come play for him.

I'd love to match up with them in a few years when both coaches have their team at peak level.

That said, as hard as it would be, this guy would be nice to pull out from under Spurrier.

 

[Champion10]

indeed it would

 

[IRISHMAN]

i wonder who barnes would rather play with. jimmy clausen-charlie weis or steve spurrier and whatever QB he can dig up.

 

[scooper]

i wonder who barnes would rather play with. jimmy clausen-charlie weis or steve spurrier and whatever QB he can dig up.

We know the Cluassen-Weis combo can potentially be great. But I wouldn't short change any Spurrier-QB combo. Spurrier helped some mediocre QB's talent-wise put up some great numbers. He had quite a few receivers drafted on day one. The appeal will be there. He is a proven commodity in the eyes of offensive skill players. Add in the fact that the kid grew up in Columbia and it will be a tough sell to get him out of there.

I'm not saying it can't be done. We certainly have the coaches in place to do it. But if the kid does stay home and play at USC, I really can't blame him.

 

[Domer95]

We know the Cluassen-Weis combo can potentially be great. But I wouldn't short change any Spurrier-QB combo. Spurrier helped some mediocre QB's talent-wise put up some great numbers.

TRUE, HOWEVER.....can you name the last UF QB who even performed adequately in the NFL??

I'll take the transformation of 6th round pick Brady & Weis over a teacher and pupil who 'throws' up gaudy NCAA numbers.

 

[scooper]

TRUE, HOWEVER.....can you name the last UF QB who even performed adequately in the NFL??

That's my point. His QB's were not that talented but they put up huge numbers. We're not talking about recruiting a QB here. We're talking about WR's. If the QB is an NFL first rounder or not, if they put up huge numbers, so are the receivers. Some have panned out, some haven't, but on draft day, Spurrier's wide receivers were thought of much more highly than his QB's.

Look, I'm with you here. I want this guy. Playing under Weis would be great for him. But when we take off the blue and gold glasses, we see there are other coaches out there that are capable of getting a WR to the pros. And in this case, such a coach happens to be in his own back yard.

 

[jiggafini19]

Rex Grossman came out of college with huge potential. The NFL gurus really loved him.

Unfortunately, he is about as fragile as a China Doll and hasn't seen the field much.

At what point, down the road, does Weis' NFL experience become irrelevant? Eventually, ND will need to hang their hats on what Weis is doing in the NCAA.

 

[scooper]

Eventually, ND will need to hang their hats on what Weis is doing in the NCAA.

Well, he's certainly off to a good start. And his development of some skill players that had been underachieving can only help his reputation.

 

[iloveirish_12]

Lets get Cluassen first, then we can talk about how great they would be. And if he did come what would you do with the 2 QB we have coming?

 

[Champion10]

they would have to fight over the starting QB job for the defending National Champs

 

[bigdon]

Barnes will never get out of SC. If he did his family would have to move. The quality of his QB's notwithstanding, Spurrier's success has been throwing 60 yard bombs to WR's and RB's who are 20 yards behind the DB's. He is a WR's dream. Fly down the field and I'll get the ball to you.

As good as Weis is, I wouldn't spend too much energy on this one.

 

[Champion10]

Maybe but I bet Weis will try.

 

[jiggafini19]

Well, he's certainly off to a good start. And his development of some skill players that had been underachieving can only help his reputation.

Right, after nine games. I couldn't agree more.

In six years, how much are the Super Bowl rings going to be a selling point to recruits? Not nearly as much as now. They'll always count for something, but the longer CW is at ND the more they become memories.

Now some NC rings, that's different.

Sooner or later, what translates on the field at ND is going to be the most relevant issue.

As for Spurrier, he sent guys to the League. They weren't Pro Bowl QBs, but your odds of being that after college are pretty slim no matter where you go. Jesse Palmer is still getting paid. believe it or not. NFL ambitions are for football factories like Miami and SC.

 

[Champion10]

And Palmer was on the bachelor

 

[jiggafini19]

And Palmer was on the bachelor

All because of Steve Superior.

 

[Champion10]

could have been lol