How we got here: DJ Barber’s commitment to Auburn

The DJ Barber recruitment began in January at Auburn’s Junior Day.

If you were paying attention to Auburn Live along the way, there were updates after updates about the Tigers’ newest commit. 

For the recruiting junkies, these kinds of things are fun to look back on. For that reason, I have compiled as many of the updates that we provided on Barber throughout his recruitment as I could find. These updates date all the way back to Feb. 3, 2023.

First Auburn Live interview (Feb. 3, 2023)

Auburn Live first got in touch with Barber a few days after his Junior Day visit. With so many prospects on campus that day, it was tough to catch everyone. Also, Barber spent that day with Josh Aldridge and away from the group for the most part.

“I stepped into Coach Josh Aldridge‘s room, the new linebacker coach, and had a long talk with him. It was basically just about college, but then about me coming to Auburn and he talked to me about the whole recruiting process. He gave me some good advice that I was using before and will definitely use now. He told me at this point in my recruitment I need to start learning and being able to identify who likes me, who loves me, who wants me and who needs me. After talking to him about those type of things, he offered me.”

After an in-person meeting (Feb. 10, 2023)

I met with Barber in person at Clay-Chalkville high school when I learned he was going to be a top target for the long haul. Here was the intel I gathered from that day.

When Barber received his offer from Alabama in early January, he told BamaInsider’s Joseph Hastings “It’s definitely at the top as of right now.” That was before several other big offers came in, including from Auburn. Since then, the latest intel points toward Auburn being a possible favorite. If Alabama pushes hard, it will be tough as usual. However, if Auburn pushes, the Tigers will have a legitimate shot. As of right now, it seems as though both schools are still in the early stages and not putting pressure on him to commit for now.

Barber hopes to be a nursing major in college. He told Auburn Live that Auburn was one of the best places to get a nursing degree in his opinion. His education is of the utmost importance and will play a major factor in which school he chooses.

The way that Auburn presented the offer to Barber still resonates with him. It happened during junior day. He says things have progressed with Auburn linebacker coach Josh Aldridge and assistant linebacker coach Josh Linam. The Tigers have a plethora of strong linebacker targets on the board, but none that quite resemble Barber. He is a true presence inside the box. Since the offer, Barber has started to feel more like a priority. He says the coaches are upfront about the crowded linebacker board, but believes there will be room for him if he eventually wants in. There is no pressure to get on board as of yet.

Barber makes Auburn Live’s ‘Ten Most Wanted’ (Feb. 19, 2023)

As he kept rising up the board for Auburn, Barber was constantly on most wanted lists in terms of defensive recruits, even before he had a full ranking. Here was the update from the most wanted article.

Barber was offered by Auburn linebacker coach Josh Aldridge during junior day. The way he offered continues to stand out to the inside backer. It seems as though there could be some more urgency from Auburn with Barber. With so many good linebackers as realistic options for this class it was hard to gauge. However, it is clear that Barber is wanted by the Tigers. Expect for Auburn to recruit him as a top overall target.

Freeze takes personal interest (Mar. 6, 2023)

After a phone conversation with Barber in early March, it was clear that Hugh Freeze had joined in with Aldridge in heavily recruiting him.

Tigers’ coach Hugh Freeze has taken a personal interest in this recruitment as he has started to do with several recruitments. It never hurts to have the head coach contacting you, especially when he’s busy with spring football. 

“He always tells me when we get on the phone that I won’t talk to another SEC head coach more than him,” Barber said. I asked Barber what Freeze meant by that; Barber told me that Freeze asked him somewhat jokingly to keep a tally of how many times other SEC coaches call him, and he will make sure to top it. According to Barber, Freeze is already winning.”

The prediction (Mar. 8, 2023)

Mar. 8 was On3’s company-wide RPM day. I had to make three picks and Barber was by far the easiest. In fact, I had been meaning to put it in sooner. Barber was at the top of the inside backer board with Demarcus Riddick and he was seemingly all in for the Tigers.

Arkansas surges, Barber tells Auburn Live about his cousin (April 28, 2023)

I got word that Arkansas and Travis Williams were making a legitimate push and that Barber had scheduled an official visit there. Therefore, I had to go see Barber in person to get a feel for the situation.

While there, I learned that Barber was cousins with Ole Miss linebacker transfer Austin Keys.

For those that don’t know (Barber has not mentioned it elsewhere), he and Auburn linebacker Austin Keys are cousins. After spending the weekend with Keys in Auburn, is there any pressure from Keys for Barber to pick Auburn? 

“He said he loves Auburn, he said it was the best decision he made transferring from Ole Miss to Auburn,” Barber said. “He said it feels like a better opportunity for him to provide for his family and a better opportunity for him to get to the NFL. It plays a little bit of a role. There are not too many people who get to play beside a family member in college and just so happen to play the same exact position. It’s not really a big factor, but it definitely plays a little role in it.”

Auburn never wavered

Despite Arkansas stealing some momentum from Auburn at one point, the Tigers and Aldridge stayed confident.

Auburn’s staff loves Barber as a throwback linebacker. He is a thumper in the box and has enough in his arsenal to play out in space at the same time.

When did Auburn seal the deal? Remember the balcony scene during Auburn Elite Camp? Hugh Freeze spent a good bit of that time talking one-on-one with Barber while other, more highly ranked, recruits such as Jaylen Mbakwe, Joseph Phillips, Alvin Henderson and others were there.

Shortly after that balcony scene, Barber told Auburn Live the Tigers were No. 1 and would be nearly impossible to beat.

The post How we got here: DJ Barber’s commitment to Auburn appeared first on On3.