Since reopening his recruitment and decommitting from Wake Forest on Oct. 3, Khalil Barnes has heard from a myriad of college coaches.
No other schools besides Clemson have pulled the trigger on a scholarship offer, but the three-star defensive back out of Bogart (Ga.) North Oconee High, has received extensive interest from programs like Ole Miss, Georgia and Georgia Tech.
“It’s kind of the same as it’s been, Wake and Clemson are definitely recruiting me the hardest and showing me the most interest,” Barnes told The Clemson Insider in a phone interview recently.
Ever since Clemson offered Barnes on Sept. 22, he’s been in constant contact with defensive coordinator Wesley Goodwin and co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach Mickey Conn. He said that his conversations with Goodwin and Conn are more personable, that they don’t talk about football.
“I feel like I talk to him the most out of any coach from up there,” Barnes said of Conn. “I can call him and we can probably talk about what I had for lunch and have a good conversation. He always lets me know that at Clemson, they really want me. He feels that I’m the guy that they need to have with this recruiting class. It’s good talks for sure.”
Barnes said that Conn has outlined what role he would potentially play in Clemson’s defense, which would be similar to that of Andrew Mukuba. Barnes would learn the nickel back position, as well as the “star” position, which is more of a hybrid safety role. He said that he would also learn Clemson’s corner calls and since he’s worked at corner in high school, it would be a natural fit for him.
“I can go up there and I’d have the chance to compete to play early,” he said. “I can play any of those positions they need me to, which is what they expect out of me.”
Barnes will return to Clemson next weekend for the Syracuse game on Oct. 22. This will be an unofficial visit and he’ll be accompanied by his high school coaches, who have coached with Conn, as well as his father. Barnes will then make his way back for the South Carolina game on Nov. 26 and take an official visit that weekend.
It sounds like Clemson will play host to its class of 2023 commits that weekend, so it’ll give Barnes a chance to be around some of those guys.
Barnes has been in contact with a few Clemson commits: Hoschton (Ga.) Mill Creek four-star linebacker Jamal Anderson, Birmingham (Ala.) Briarwood Christain School five-star quarterback Christopher Vizizna and St. John’s College High (Washington, D.C.) four-star defensive end David Ojiegbe.
“I talk to Jamal, he’s recruiting me pretty hard,” Barnes said of Anderson. “He always lets me know that Clemson is the place to be. Me and him used to talk about how we wanted to play with each other, he tells me we got the chance there. He definitely recruits me pretty hard.”
Like Barnes, half of Clemson’s class of 2023 commits hail from the Peach State.
“I definitely look at it just in case Clemson is the place,” he said. “It’d be a lot of familiarity with who I’d be around and just the kind of guys I’d be on the team with. They also got a lot of guys on their team from Georgia. That’d be cool. Again, they got dudes like David (Ojiegbe), who I met my first time down at Clemson, me and him built a pretty good bond. If I did go there, I would feel like I wouldn’t have trouble building relationships and being cool with the other guys and all.”
As far as a decision timeline is concerned, Barnes imagines that it’ll likely come close to the early signing period. He’s hoping to be a mid-year enrollee and said that all the schools he’s been in contact with will be able to accommodate him on that.
“You can’t be wrong,” Barnes said. “You really gotta make sure you make the right decision for this one.”
When it’s time for Barnes to sit down and make his college decision, what are going to be some of the more important factors that he’s looking for in a school at the next level?
“A lot of things that go further than football,” he said. “For one, I want to go to a place where I can build my faith and there won’t be any kind of dropoff. Two, I want to go to a place where graduating is a must kind of thing. I don’t just want to go there and be a good football player and have a chance to go to the NFL, then fall out and not have any backup plan. I want to go somewhere where they’re gonna make sure I’m set for life after football. Three, just the opportunity on how early I can have the chance to compete.”
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