Five-star safety Casey Barner is one of Georgia's most important recruits in the 2028 recruiting class. He is the No. 1 player from the state of Georgia, but unfortunately his most recent interview may have hinted at Georgia being far behind in his recruitment.
After his game on Wednesday he was asked about where he stands in his recruitment with Georgia. Instead of answering he initially avoided the question completely.
“Man, it’s still early in the process yet,” Barner said via dawgnation.com. “I haven’t come down to it. I’m just focused on my junior year, man. Trying to make plays and have a great season. I’m not even worried about recruiting right now.”
When DawgNation's Jeff Sentell dug a little deeper he finally commented specifically about Georgia, but he didn't say anything that stood out or showed Georgia is leading his recruitment.
“Georgia is close to home, man,” Barner said. “Me and Kirby [Smart], we’re guys, bro. The whole staff. The whole secondary. Even the offensive staff. We are all tight. They are doing what they are doing. They are doing what they should be doing. I wouldn’t say they have to clean up anything. I love the University of Georgia.”
Sentell then asked about Ohio State who many experts believe leads his recruitment right now, and that was the biggest sign throughout this interview that Georgia has a lot of work to do to catch up to the Buckeyes.
Ohio State could be Georgia's biggest challenge in Casey Barner's recruitment
Barner's comments about Ohio State weren't anything crazy, but when Sentell mentioned Ohio State he wrote that Barner "lit up." He did not do that when asked about Georgia.
“I mean, Ohio State, they are doing a great job, man” Barner said. “Shout out to Ryan Day and MG (safeties coach Matt Guerrieri), man.”
His reaction when he was asked about Ohio State said more than his actual words. The consensus surrounding his recruitment the last few weeks has been that Ohio State is his leader, and his facial expressions when asked about the Buckeyes seemed to confirm that.
The good news for Georgia is that this is only Barner's junior season in high school, so Kirby Smart has plenty of time to catch up Ohio State. Based on recent in-state recruiting trends though that could be a difficult task.
Casey Barner could continue Georgia's in-state recruiting woes
Georgia has struggled recruiting the top talent from the Peach State the last few recruiting cycles. Many of the top recruits in Georgia have chosen to go elsewhere, and that includes five-star DJ Jacobs who is one of the top players in the 2027 class who is leaving the state to play for Ohio State.
Ohio State isn't the only school who has found success recruiting in the state of Georgia. Texas A&M stole Kamarui Dorsey, Texas Tech snagged LaDamion Guyton, Alabama took Xavier Griffin and Jorden Edmonds and Texas earned a commitment from Tyler Atkinson. Every one of these players is a five-star recruit from Georgia in the 2027 or 2026 class, and Kirby Smart pushed extremely hard for them all. In the past these are recruitments Georgia would win at a high clip, but that hasn't been the case in the last two recruiting classes.
Georgia could change this trend with Barner, but as of now things aren't looking good.
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