Austin Barber commits to Minnesota
Just hours after receiving a commitment from Simeon (Ill.) offensive Tackle Cameron James, the Minnesota Gophers added another prospect to their future offensive line in Trinity Christian Academy (Fla.) tackle Austin Barber.
The Gophers offered the 6'7", 314 pound three-star back in April. He held over 20 offers from the likes of Duke, Illinois, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Ole Miss, Pitt, North Carolina, Vanderbilt, and others and was able to visit Georgia Tech in person right before the recruiting shut down.
Barber went on a virtual visit to Minnesota early in May and he broke down what he like and saw on the virtual tour with The Gopher Report.
"I took a virtual visit on Friday (May 1) - what stood out was how much they put into and have a plan for each individual player. The facilities are super nice and the indoor practice facility is nice as well. But, the academics stood out to me because they have every major you could think of. I like them a lot, they are really changing that program and it's showing by their record last year. Coach Callahan is the main coach I talk to almost every day. He is straight forward, but he is a really cool guy. He says that I fit in their program well and he likes that I'm a big guy, but still athletic and can still move and that I'm a greedy player."
Barber is now the the 18th overall commitment for the Gophers in the 2021 recruiting class and second offensive lineman, joining Annandale (Minn.) product Logan Purcell and Cameron James.
Moving forward, Minnesota will look to add one more offensive lineman to their class with some of their top remaining targets being Tomas Rimac, Joe Alt, Otto Hess, Albert Reese, Ru'Quan Buckley, and Roderick Orr.
