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Ty Barrett gave us all heart attacks a few weeks ago, when he decommitted following a visit to Arizona State and an in-home visit from Central Florida. After returning from Orlando on a visit to the Black Knights, Barrett recommitted himself to TCU, proving that even the surest of things in recruiting can make us go crazy.
Barrett is a 4-star lineman prospect from Dallas Skyline, and was key in getting a few other guys to commit to the class of 2014. He's going to be an asset to the Frogs on and off the field for the next four years, and TCU is lucky to have this kid.
Here's SB Nation Recruiting Analyst Wescott Eberts with the breakdown:
The first good sign for Barrett in terms of his ability to continue playing outside in college is that he plays left tackle at Skyline for a program that competes at the highest level of Texas football, meaning that Barrett faces strong competition and has to deal with some legitimate edge rushers.
In pass protection, Barrett can lean a little bit at times and doesn't have elite height and length for the position, but his overall ability to kick step quickly and get his big body moving is good enough to project him as a right tackle in college. At times, he can set in his cylinder and shows the base to absorb bull rushes from opponents with a good punch.
As a run blocker, the fact that the Skyline tackles appear to play exclusively out of a two-point stance doesn't help Barrett in terms of his pad level and ability to come off the ball low and hard. It's an area in which he could stand to improve, though it doesn't appear that he lacks the hip and ankle flexibility to sink, then roll through his hips, it's just hard for any offensive lineman out of that particular stance.
At the second level, Barrett can track and get his hands on smaller defenders, though he typically ends up screen them rather than getting good hand placement, keeping his legs driving, and ending plays with pancakes. In the zone game, his quick feet allow him to reach blocker without actually having to reach and overextend himself.
Overall, it would be unfair to classify the high school left tackle as raw technically, but he will probably need some time at the college level to hone his technique before he is ready to contribute at a high level. When he does smooth out those elements of his game, Barrett's upside is as a multi-year starter for a high-level BCS program.
Welcome to the family Ty!
Go Frogs!
