Lee County Prospect Chris Barnes Is Set To Visit Athens This Weekend For Georgia Football Spring Practice. But Will His Teammate And Defensive Standout Aubrey Solomon Get Some Love And An Offer From The Dawgs As Well?
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Lee County offensive line prospect Chris Barnes (6’5, 270) is scheduled to visit Athens and attend the Georgia Bulldogs spring practice on Saturday. Barnes is a 3-Star prospect that is listed as the 56th overall OT and the 56th overall prospect in the state of Georgia per 247Sports.com Composite Rankings.
Barnes has exhibited quickness and great athleticism on the offensive line with surprising strength to boot. That strength can be seen in that he bench presses some 330 pounds and squats 445 pounds. He possesses intangibles for an offensive lineman in that he is prolific with his use of hands, blocks well, employs on his assignments with fervor, and has the power to take on opponents he is pitted up against.
Barnes is not a player lacking in accolades either. In 2014 he was named to the ESPN Junior 300 and was named to the Georgia Elite Junior Classic which took place this past December. He is also on the watch list for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. The offensive lineman was named to the Georgia Sports Writers Association All-State football team for 2014 and was even rated the #1 overall junior prospect for the class of 2016 this past year by the National Sports Report.
Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Georgia have all extended scholarship offers to Barnes. Auburn has also been a team of interest but has yet to offer him a scholarship as of this point. However, Barnes has visited Auburn on at least three different occasions.
The Bulldogs offered to Barnes this past February and since that offer the Lee County prospect has confirmed that he has spoken with new offensive line coach Rob Sale as well as UGA head coach Mark Richt. Saturday’s visit will be his third to Athens as the Georgia Bulldogs try to hem him in and snag the O-Line standout before anyone else does.
CHRIS BARNES’ 2014 HIGHLIGHTS – Hudl
While Barnes is on the hot list for Georgia, one can only ponder if the Dawgs are sleeping on his teammate from Lee County. Aubrey Solomon (6’2, 271) is a 4 Star defensive tackle that is listed as the 7th overall DT and the 8th overall prospect in the state of Georgia for the class of 2017 per 247Sports.com Composite Rankings.
Though it will be a good length of time before Solomon brings his defensive talents to a NCAA Division 1 program, he has already drawn a surfeit of attention. This should come as no surprise given his large stature and frame.
The young prospect already benches around 300 pounds and squats around 400, numbers that will likely increase as Solomon ages, matures, and molds into a defensive powerhouse to be reckoned with. Solomon has already proven to be effective and efficient with his size and power against opposing offensive lineman. He has also displayed greatness in terms of horizontal quickness when playing down the line against opponents.
Solomon was a visitor to the 2014 Atlanta Nike Football Training Camp where he showed off his skills in his youth for all to see. He was ranked the #12 Top Sophomore prospect in the Peach State this past 2014 for Friday Night Football Magazine (Georgia).
AUBREY SOLOMON’S 2014 HIGHLIGHTS – Hudl
This past December Solomon was named to the All-Region First Team for Region 1-AAAAA following Lee County’s standout football season. In February he shined at the Valdosta MVP Camp and was named one of the top defensive prospects in light of his showing there. A couple of weeks ago Solomon was also ranked as one of the Rivals.com top 100 prospects to watch in the 2017 class.
Auburn, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, and most recently Penn State have already extended offers to Solomon showing that many programs are chomping at the bit to land the defensive prodigy.
The Dawgs have yet to extend an offer as of yet and the powers that be in Athens may need to jump on the bandwagon and go ahead and pursue him now rather than later. Being the first or one of the initial schools to offer is becoming more important to many of the prospects out there today as can be seen in the example of Trenton Thompson.
Only time will tell to see if the University of Georgia proffers a request for Solomon to join the other defensive stars that play “Between The Hedges” in The Classic City. One can only hope that they do not wait too late and miss out on a defensive star in the making.