10 Questions: Mathias Barnwell opens up about Penn State commitment
It's rare to see a player commit to the same school twice throughout a recruiting cycle, but that's what happened this past Saturday when Penn State earned a verbal commitment from Rivals250 tight end Mathias Barnwell ahead of the game with Villanova.
For those who may not follow recruiting closely, Barnwell was at one point the youngest player to ever commit to the Nittany Lion football program when he announced back in June 2020. He held firm with that decision throughout the 2020 season, but come January, he realized he decided too quickly, opening everything back up.
After a short season in Virginia this past spring, Barnwell saw his offer sheet nearly double, with just under 30 schools extending a scholarship. By the summer, he was down to seven - Penn State, Kentucky, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Virginia and Virginia Tech - all of whom earned a visit in either June or July.
James Franklin and his coaching staff got him on campus twice though, and by the end of his second visit in July, it was becoming clear that the Nittany Lions were once again in a strong position. By the time he returned to campus 11 days ago for the White Out game against Auburn, Barnwell knew that his original decision was the right one.
To get a better feel for his entire recruitment, BWI's Ryan Snyder caught up with him Tuesday night to ask a variety of questions. Fans can read that Q&A below.
Ryan Snyder: Why commit now instead of maybe a few months from now when you could have gone to a few more games, see some more schools? I know you saw a good group of schools this summer, but what made you want to commit now?
Mathias Barnwell: I think that the three visits I took to Penn State since this summer really helped. My family and I truly enjoyed our time every time we were there. We never want to leave when we visit. Also, every day I talk to somebody from the Penn State staff. It doesn't even have to be a football coach. I talk to recruiting directors, their edit guys, everybody. It's just been an everyday routine, texting them to see what's going on and stuff like that.
They communicate with my family as well, and they never stopped recruiting me hard, even when I decommitted. Coach [Ty] Howle didn't have to get to know my family when Coach [Tyler] Bowen left, which was great. He showed love the whole time, stuck to everything and most definitely made us feel like Penn State was home.
Snyder: You came up for the White Out game about 10 days ago. What was that ride home like? Were you talking to your family about committing then? When did your your decision to recommit to Penn State get put into motion?
Barnwell: We had already discussed everything prior to the White Out game. We had already discussed recruiting and where Penn State was, how early I wanted to end it, all of that. We were definitely talking about it the whole way up to the White Out and the whole way back. We also talked about it the whole week before the Villanova game, so we were all pretty locked in as a family for a little while now.
Snyder: When did you actually tell Penn State's staff what you wanted to do?
Barnwell: The whole staff knew probably about a week before. I called them the Sunday after the White Out, so they all knew, spread it throughout the staff so we could have edits made and all of that. So, we really knew what we wanted to do, as a family, after that White Out game.
Snyder: Coach Bowen played a big part in you committing the first time, so how important was Coach Howle in locking you up?
Barnwell: Like I said, the two or three visits I took up there this summer were huge. I got to see him coach at least twice, so that really did play a huge factor. He's a great coach. He coaches with enthusiasm, he shows a lot of love to his players, and not just The Aces, but everybody. He's just a genuinely happy person who wants everybody around him to work hard and be the best they can be. He's gonna push everyone around him, and that's great. That's what I'm looking for.
But, from a different standpoint, my mom and my whole family all love him. My mom texts him daily, just about life and stuff like that. That's another thing I really like: it's not all about football. Everything's important, from academics to just life in general. Football is a big part of it, but at the end of the day, football ends someday for everybody. I think Penn State does a great job showing that they're there for you after football.
Related: 10 things Penn State fans need to know about Mathias Barnwell
Snyder: So, who were Penn State's top competitors? I believe you mentioned in an interview in mid-June that Ohio State was becoming your favorite. Who were you really considering hard towards the end of this?
Barnwell: Both of the in-state schools played a really big part of my recruitment, Virginia Tech and Virginia. Coach [Garett] Tujague and Coach [Ryan] Smith both recruited me really well since my freshman year. I really like those guys. But other than that, it was really just Ohio State, Kentucky and Notre Dame.
Snyder: A lot of fans have wondered if you're interested at all in potentially playing offensive tackle if you continue to grow. Where do you stand with that? Do you strictly want to play tight end, or is offensive tackle a position you'd potentially try?
Barnwell: Well, since my freshman year, they've always preached that this is a tight end offer and they strictly see me as a tight end. So, I did commit as a tight end. I'm in the tight end room. We haven't really had the conversation about going to the offensive line, but if that day were to come, it's Big 10 football. I'm blessed to play anywhere on the field, so I'd be totally fine with that. I can even try out defense, go to D-End, D-Tackle or something like that. We could work something out if tight end doesn't work. I'm definitely okay with playing offensive line, but we haven't had any talks of that so far.
Snyder: Once the season is over, have you thought about how you plan to train in the offseason? Do you want to add weight, lose some weight? Stay the same? Just curious if you've given much thought to that. I know you've lost a little weight since the summer and are down to 255 now. Also, I assume you still plan to play basketball, right?
Barnwell: Yeah, I'll definitely keep playing basketball, just to stay in shape and keep my body right. I'm going to really hit the weight room and everything like that. It's time to really take that to the next level. I'm going to be in college in a year or two, so this offseason is going to be strictly just training and getting better for the next level.
I am looking to probably drop like 10 or 15 pounds. I want to gain as much muscle as I can, of course. It's really just about body composition for me. Most tight ends don't really focus on blocking nowadays. It's more so just receiving tight ends, but that's one thing I love about Penn State. You see 13 personnel, 12 personnel, one tight end blocking, another running around. I feel like I fit in great there as a tight end.
Snyder: Have you given any thought to enrolling early? Have you talked to Penn State about that?
Barnwell: Yes, I have talked to Penn State about that and I will be enrolling early.
Snyder: Have you gotten to know Alex Birchmeier at all or Lamont Payne? Have you gotten to know any of the 2022 commits?
Barnwell: When I was previously committed, I talked to Ken Talley, Jerry Cross and Kaden Saunders pretty frequently. I would say it was like once a week, if not twice. So, I do know those guys. We did keep in touch a little bit after my commitment as well. With Birchmeier, yeah, I'm in group chats with him and Lamont Payne. Lamont and I met at a 7-on-7 tournament our freshman year, so we've talked to each other on social media for awhile and then with Birchmeier being a huge recruit in VA, we've been keeping in touch a lot.
Snyder: For my last question, I like you give you an opportunity to say something to all the Penn State fans reading this. Anything come to mind?
Barnwell: I'm ready to come in and give 100 percent effort. I plan to give as much as I can to the program, and I'm ready to win a national championship. I think we're on the right track right now. They're ranked fourth in the country and Coach Franklin has done an amazing job, really ever since he got there. He's just been a really key part to everything. He's really built Penn State into something special and I just can't wait to come in and get to work.
*******
• Talk about this article inside The Lions Den
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Sign up for our daily newsletter and breaking news alerts
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue-White Illustrated
• Follow us on Twitter: @BWIonRivals, @NateBauerBWI, @RivalsSnyder, @DavidEckert98, @GregPickel, @ThomasFrankCarr
• Follow us on Instagram
• Like us on Facebook