He is going to play football at the University of Iowa.
Barrent, the highest-rated senior-to-be in the state, gave his non-binding, oral commitment to the Hawkeyes coaching staff Friday, becoming the second player to join Iowa’s 2009 recruiting class.
“I’m fully committed,” Barrent said. “I’m really excited. I can’t wait to be there.”
The 6-foot-8, 290-pounder from West Des Moines Valley High School is rated a 4-star prospect by Web site Rivals.com, and he is ranked 101st on the Rivals 250 list of the top high school seniors in the nation.
He had scholarship offers from Iowa State, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern and Illinois. He said his decision came down to Michigan State, Illinois and Iowa.
Barrent carries a 3.8 GPA and scored a 30 on his ACT. He plans to study engineering.
“My parents and I had been out on a lot of visits to a lot of schools I was interested in,” Barrent said. “We looked at a lot of different things, looked at a lot of the different engineering programs they had and looked at the coaching staff and how they coach and what they coach and the campuses and everything. After going around to all the schools, the best fit for me is Iowa.”
Barrent helped Valley to an 11-1 record as a junior last fall. The Tigers were undefeated in the regular season and reached the Class 4A state semifinals before losing to Ankeny.
Iowa’s most recent recruiting class did not include a player with a Rivals rating greater than 3 stars. Barrent is one of three 4-star prospects in the state this year. Cedar Rapids Washington wide receiver Keenan Davis is rated the 146th best player in the nation, while Sioux City Bishop Heelan running back Brandon Wegher has a 4-star rating and is listed as just missing the cut for the Rivals 250.
“I don’t know what this will do for the other people with the offers,” Barrent said of his commitment. “They might see it and want to commit, but I don’t think it will really have any effect. It’s my decision, and I don’t expect it to affect anyone else’s decision.”
Barrent joins Ohio running back Brad Rogers as Iowa’s known commitments from the Class of 2009.
Contact Eric Page at (563) 383-2277 or epage@qctimes.com.
