On the Right Path
May 05, 2006 09:56 AM | General
May 5, 2006
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Brandon Barrett is finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. West Virginia’s highly touted wide receiver showed during the Gold-Blue spring game that he is more than just a paper tiger.
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| Junior Brandon Barrett was the star of the Gold-Blue spring game, catching five passes for 111 yards and a touchdown.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
Barrett caught five passes for a scrimmage-best 111 yards that included a seven-yard touchdown hookup from backup quarterback T.J. Mitchell.
“It was nice to see him make a few plays,” said West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez. “Brandon’s best asset is his competitiveness. He really loves to compete and toward the end of the spring he really came on.”
On one play late in the scrimmage, Barrett took a pass across the middle at midfield, changed directions, and ran all the way to the nine for a 59-yard reception. The play drew a standing ovation from the crowd well aware of Barrett’s past difficulties.
“It felt good,” Barrett said.
The 6-foot-1-inch, 195-pund junior says he is now on the right path. The other stuff is behind him. He’s concentrating on his school work and doing what the coaches tell him to do. Barrett says his problems really started during his senior year at Martinsburg High School.
He admits he spent more time concentrating on scoring touchdowns and setting records than he did on his school work.
“My senior year I let my grades drop and that put me into this position,” Barrett said.
He made the prestigious Parade All-America high school football team and was considered one of the top 50 high school football prospects in the country, turning down a scholarship offer from Ohio State to attend West Virginia University.
But Barrett had to sit out his first year at WVU to concentrate on academics. And then last year he came into camp out of shape and didn’t make the travel squad until the Rutgers game. He has yet to catch a pass in a college game.
“At first coming out of high school I dug myself into a hole and I’ve been in it for two years,” he said. “I just have to work my way back on the depth chart and try to work through things. My coaches and teammates have helped me come a long way.”
Barrett did get on the field for West Virginia’s 38-35 win over Georgia in the Nokia Sugar Bowl, and although he didn’t have any catches he did make a couple of blocks that helped spring running back Steve Slaton.
“We run the ball more than we throw it so I just have to block and do what you’re assigned to do,” he said. “Hopefully they’ll throw you the ball, too.”
With teams well aware of Steve Slaton, Owen Schmitt and a running quarterback in Pat White, Rodriguez says his team must be prepared to throw the football more frequently this year to keep defenses honest.
“Teams can outnumber you and they can force you to throw the football,” Rodriguez said. “I’m confident that we will be ready to do that. We have the talent there and we have the system and the schemes to do it.”
“Hopefully the receivers can step up and make it easier on the quarterbacks,” Barrett said.
Barrett is not taking his rediscovered success for granted. He plans on working hard during the development season to get in the best shape of his life in time for fall camp.
“There are a lot of things I need to work on,” he said. “Coach has a list of things I need to improve on so I’m just going to take those and work on them every day and try and get better as a player.”
One of those goals is to regain the scholarship he was offered by WVU assistant coach Bill Stewart back when he was a high school senior, although he says that’s not his overriding motivation.
“My motivation is to try and get back onto the football field,” he said. “I miss it and I love doing it. I just have to get my grades right and my biggest motivation has been my class work.”
Because he was so well known throughout the state, Barrett understands there are plenty of misconceptions out there about him. Those are things he says he can’t control.
“People are going to think what they’re going to think,” he shrugged. “I know in my heart what I have to do to be successful and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Even during his darkest days when he wasn’t a part of the team, Barrett never considered playing anywhere else.
“I had my mind set of coming in here regardless of whether I had to walk on or if they were going to give me my scholarship,” Barrett said. “West Virginia recruited me the hardest and they stuck with me through everything. Coach Stew, I thank him a lot because without him I probably wouldn’t be here today.
“He invested a lot of time in me. He was there through the whole recruiting process and he’s probably like my second dad,” Barrett said. “Therefore I look up to him a lot and I cherish him for that.”
Barrett admits there were hard lessons learned.
“Not being able to play football took a lot out of me,” he said. “But I had to do my class work and get my grades right to be able to play football again so I looked at it as a positive.”
“Brandon is hungry right now because he wants to earn that scholarship and he wants to prove that whatever happened in the past is behind him and that we can count on him,” said Rodriguez.
“It’s a blessing just to play football again,” Barrett said. “It’s a great feeling.”
