Elijah Barnes 'locked in' with Texas after Oregon trip, but denies negative recruiting approach

Andrew Nemec | Sep 5, 2024

Elijah Barnes is committed to Texas /

The Oregon Ducks had a somewhat surprising visitor last weekend for their season opener against the Idaho Vandals.

Skyline (Texas) linebacker and Texas Longhorns commit Elijah "Bo" Barnes, the nation's No. 3 player at his position, made the trip to Eugene and had positive things to say about the Ducks.

“Oregon was great — just to see the atmosphere," he said. "It was great. I got to be around the coaches and everything.” 

But the 6-foot-1, 230-pound athlete also indicated he was still "locked in" with the Longhorns.

“I’m pretty much solid with Texas, but I don’t know what could happen In the near future, " he said, stating a return trip to Eugene was still a possibility.

Barnes also denied a report from On3 that Oregon's recruiting approach was negatively recruiting Texas.

"“It was just about Oregon," he said. "I told them I was locked in with Texas and everything. There was no bad-talking Texas, or any team really.”

Of course, that means Texas remains in good standing.

Much of that centers around their relationship-building with the key in-state pledge.

“Our relationship with them is great, talking to them every other week," Barnes said. "I would say our relationship is strong. “I’m close with all of the coaches, pretty much. Coach Sark [Steve Sarkisian] is supposed to talk to me (this week). I talk to coach (Johnny) Nansen the most, the linebacker coach, so we probably have the strongest relationship.”

So, it would seem Barnes' commitment to Texas remains solid.

Could that change? It's something to keep an eye on going forward.

Here's what 247Sports had to say about Barnes as a prospect:

"Athletic off-ball linebacker prospect with desired combination of multi-sport participation, verified athletic markers, and some degree of two-way snaps. Plays under control and tends to not over-pursue. Seems to play with good vision and anticipation as a run defender and a blitzer. Instinctively finds creases vs. the run and sniffs out in-the-box pass rush lanes. Strong enough to play through contact and athletic enough to defend space. Possesses strong track profile with a 10.96 junior 100-meter time that followed encouraging 11.1 and 11.2 reps as a sophomore. Owns valuable part-time offensive snaps that represent a commonality in NFL Draft linebacker selections in recent years. Plays aware and with speed-changing nuance in pursuit, using sudden twitch to defeat angles and close space. Excellent big-play context in Fall 2023 with a dozen TFL, four INTs, and six forced fumbles. Good tackler but sometimes leaves his feet and can drive to finish more consistently. Occasionally plays too upright. Might have an extra gear to unlock given terrific track and combine testing speed markers. Projects as a high-major player who could become a multi-year impact starter with clear NFL Draft upside."

Nemec's notes

In my decade-long career covering recruiting I've seen a recruit refute another report a handful of times.

It does not always mean one party is lying or misinformed.

Sometimes negative attention is brought on by a previous comment and it's best to simply distance from that position, or, at other times, simple clarification is needed.