National Signing Day 2019: Frogs fight late push to ink Darwin Barlow

There was a period of time when it looked like the Horned Frogs wouldn’t be able to hold on to one of their top commits, Newton running back Darwin Barlow. Late pushes by USC and Florida State - and a visit to SoCal just a few weeks ago - gave Frog fans pause when it came to keeping the three star stud in the fold.

But, when National Signing Day rolled around, the two time state champion elected to stay in purple, keeping the commitment he made in August and make it official this morning.

Barlow will partner with four star back Daimarqua Foster to form a powerful one-two punch in the TCU Football backfield for years to come. At 5’11 and 195 pounds, Barlow is an exceptional blend of speed and power that should be able to do a little bit of everything for the Horned Frogs out of the backfield. A top 50 player in the state, Darwin is the country’s 31st ranked running back and the fifth-highest ranked player in TCU’s class of 2019. He chose the Frogs from amongst 25 offers - in addition to ‘SC and FSU, he had three Big 12 offers, four from the SEC, and a scattershot from across the Power Five landscape and beyond. The kid can really play, and has a habit of showing up brightest in the biggest of games - including his 106 yard, two touchdown performance in this past season’s state championship game - an MVP performance in which he sported TCU gloves.

Barlow concluded his senior season by being named the AP Class 3A Offensive Player of the Year and the Offensive MVP of the state championship game. As a junior, he was named the District 10-3A-II Co-Offensive MVP. He was a second-team all-district member as a sophomore, too. With breakaway speed, the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, and quick, fluid hips that allow him to cut on a dime, Barlow could be an impact player sooner than later. TCU will need him - current co-starters Darius Anderson and Sewo Olonilua will graduate after the coming season.

One of two Newton Eagles to sign with TCU this year, Darwin joins athlete Josh Foster, who inked in December. A third member of the dynamic offensive trio, Tamauzia Brown, was expected to sign, but circumstances have changed and he will likely go the juco route instead.

Welcome to Funky Town, Darwin!