[Redrum]

Twitter report that Utah linebacker Sean Barton has committed  (Now listed as commit on Scout)

That makes four or three, depending on how one views Isaac Savaiinaea as    a) decommitted or b) committed but covering his options until he hears from admissions.

Savaiinaea  ILB
Peter Kalambayi ILB
Doug Randolph  OLB
Sean Barton  OLB    Scout rates Barton a 3 star of 4.  Rivals a 4-star of 5. on par with the other recruits on our list.  Barton has offers from Kal,  Az. St., UDub, Oregon St., Colorado, Boise St., BYU, Vanderbilt, Utah St. Georgia Tech.  Not a bad list.

Barton has announced he is taking his LDS mission before enrolling, so he'd be in the 2015 class .

[Redrum]

Twitter report that Utah linebacker Sean Barton has committed  (Now listed as commit on Scout)

That makes four or three, depending on how one views Isaac Savaiinaea as    a) decommitted or b) committed but covering his options until he hears from admissions.

Savaiinaea  ILB
Peter Kalambayi ILB
Doug Randolph  OLB
Sean Barton  OLB    Scout rates Barton a 3 star of 4.  Rivals a 4-star of 5. on par with the other recruits on our list.  Barton has offers from Kal,  Az. St., UDub, Oregon St., Colorado, Boise St., BYU, Vanderbilt, Utah St. Georgia Tech.  Not a bad list.

Barton has announced he is taking his LDS mission before enrolling, so he'd be in the 2015 class .

[pcgoode]

Rivals has him listed as a safety - not sure if that means anything though. They also have him running a sub 4.5 40, which is great for a guy his size (6'3", 220).

[pcgoode]

Rivals has him listed as a safety - not sure if that means anything though. They also have him running a sub 4.5 40, which is great for a guy his size (6'3", 220).

[Redrum]

The first one that comes to mind is Tim Smith,  who IIRC came to Stanford back in the Wil.lingham days as a QB but ended up as a really big safety.  A torn up knee ended any chance to play at the next level but had the highlight of an interception to seal Stanford's victory against a Paul Hackett-coached the University of South Central team.  I think Smith played in the 230-240  lb. range.
Barton, if he does end up reporting for football on the Farm,  seems more like an outside LB in the 3-4 than a safety.

Add:  But, BTW,  some of the better football mavens on the Booty agree with you.  They see a possible strong safety, too.

[Redrum]

The first one that comes to mind is Tim Smith,  who IIRC came to Stanford back in the Wil.lingham days as a QB but ended up as a really big safety.  A torn up knee ended any chance to play at the next level but had the highlight of an interception to seal Stanford's victory against a Paul Hackett-coached the University of South Central team.  I think Smith played in the 230-240  lb. range.
Barton, if he does end up reporting for football on the Farm,  seems more like an outside LB in the 3-4 than a safety.

Add:  But, BTW,  some of the better football mavens on the Booty agree with you.  They see a possible strong safety, too.

[Hank 91]

Here's what he says in the article ($) about his commitment:

He expects the shift to linebacker to bring a certain learning a curve, but it might not be as sharp as some expect. The new concepts he'll learn aren't totally foreign, after all.

"I'm happy to play whatever as long as I can get on the field," Barton said. "I played linebacker all through growing up until last year, I switched to safety."

http://stanford.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1392911

[Hank 91]

Here's what he says in the article ($) about his commitment:

He expects the shift to linebacker to bring a certain learning a curve, but it might not be as sharp as some expect. The new concepts he'll learn aren't totally foreign, after all.

"I'm happy to play whatever as long as I can get on the field," Barton said. "I played linebacker all through growing up until last year, I switched to safety."

http://stanford.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1392911

[slide]

11.05 100m for a guy at 220 in UT -- not too bad. 

[slide]

11.05 100m for a guy at 220 in UT -- not too bad. 

[OutsiderFan]

Barton's video is damn impressive.  If it were me I'd try to groom him as a Safety because Stanford doesn't seem to have a lot of talent at the FS position in the pipeline, and appears to be rich at LB.  But it may very well be that big Safeties are a thing of the past, with the spread and pass-oriented offenses of the day, and they may believe they have better prospects in the works.  Then again, the staff may see Barton as a guy who can easily add 15-20 pounds and maintain elite OLB speed.  It does seem he has the frame to do it.

The question is does Randolph have the ability to put on the pounds he will need to be an OLB? 

So next year's LBs:

ILB: Tarpley, Lancaster, Vaughters, Hemschoot, Martinez, Kalambayi, Saivianeaa
OLB: Murphy, Lueders, Anderson, Davis, Randolph, Barton

I guess when you look at it this way, earmarking Barton to OLB makes a lot of sense because he will make six on the roster in 2013.

[OutsiderFan]

Barton's video is damn impressive.  If it were me I'd try to groom him as a Safety because Stanford doesn't seem to have a lot of talent at the FS position in the pipeline, and appears to be rich at LB.  But it may very well be that big Safeties are a thing of the past, with the spread and pass-oriented offenses of the day, and they may believe they have better prospects in the works.  Then again, the staff may see Barton as a guy who can easily add 15-20 pounds and maintain elite OLB speed.  It does seem he has the frame to do it.

The question is does Randolph have the ability to put on the pounds he will need to be an OLB? 

So next year's LBs:

ILB: Tarpley, Lancaster, Vaughters, Hemschoot, Martinez, Kalambayi, Saivianeaa
OLB: Murphy, Lueders, Anderson, Davis, Randolph, Barton

I guess when you look at it this way, earmarking Barton to OLB makes a lot of sense because he will make six on the roster in 2013.

[Redrum]

Barton won't be in the 2013 or 2014 classes. If he carries through w/ his LDS mission,  we won't see him until 2015.

[Redrum]

Barton won't be in the 2013 or 2014 classes. If he carries through w/ his LDS mission,  we won't see him until 2015.