Markeis Barrett hasn’t heard from Clemson since he participated in the Dabo Swinney Camp earlier this summer, but the 2024 four-star athlete out of the Webb School of Knoxville in Tennessee understands that the Tigers are big on relationships.
He mentioned how when he posts something on Twitter, assistant director of football operations, Jody Evans, will favorite his tweets. The other day, Barrett received a questionnaire from one of Clemson’s recruiting numbers, so he could fill out his information ahead of this Thursday, Sept. 1.
Barrett feels like Clemson will “definitely” reach out in the coming days and is hopeful to be back in contact with wide receivers coach, Tyler Grisham, again
“That would be big,” Barrett told The Clemson Insider in a phone interview last week. “That’s a school I want to hear from.”
Barrett has gotten off to a hot start to his junior campaign. In Week 1, he had over 100 yards receiving and a touchdown in a 46-21 win over Strawberry Plains (Tennessee) Carter High School. He followed up that performance with three receptions for 92 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in a 52-7 win over Corryton (Tenn.) Gibbs High School this past Friday.
Barrett admitted that he’ll have to take his game up a notch this season with opposing teams already keying on him. While that will allow for some of his other teammates to get touches, he has nearly 200 yards receiving and three touchdowns in his first two games.
“It ended up turning out pretty good,” Barrett said of his Week 1 performance. “With me playing both sides of the ball, it was tough, but I ended up getting through it. I’m more of an offensive type of guy and I play defense too in high school. Playing both sides of the ball can be pretty tiring, but I gotta play because we gotta win.”
Most college teams that are showing interest in Barrett are looking for the talented athlete to play the wide receiver position at the next level. He offered some perspective on how playing both receiver and defensive back can help him elevate his game.
“It helps me because when I’m playing defense we’re playing a lot of coverage and stuff like that, right?” he explained. “So, when I’m playing receiver, I like to see what coverage they’re in and whatever coverage they’re in, I adjust my routes. If they’re playing a seam, I try to find an open space. If they’re in cover 3, I try to make it to where the safety can’t get to me because I play the slot.”
Before the start of his junior campaign, Barrett added Power Five offers from Boston College and Tennessee. He also added offers from Austin Peay and Campbell University to his growing list, which includes schools like Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, Marshall, Miami (OH) and Vanderbilt.
Barrett will be in Vanderbilt twice this season, when the Commodores host No. 22 Wake Forest on Sept. 10 and the University of Tennessee on Nov. 26. He’ll also try to go see the Vols in Knoxville and check out an Austin Peay game as well.
He’s also hoping that after Sept. 1, he can set up a game day visit with Clemson’s coaching staff. He attended Clemson’s 30-20 win over Florida State last season and enjoyed everything that Memorial Stadium and the surrounding atmosphere had to offer.
“I enjoyed it a lot,” he said of last season’s Clemson visit. “It was everything that I thought it would be. The fans are crazy. The energy was crazy. The coaching staff is great. I got to see their warmups and how they coach their players. It was amazing. It’s something I want to be a part of.”
Dear Old Clemson has loaded up the online store with items like Myles Murphy signed cards and many items from our event for Clemson softball.
Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!
