Just spoke with Barnes after McCallie's thrilling state championship win over Baylor.
Let's get the obvious question out of the way first. Barnes said that while Fran Brown's departure doesn't affect Georgia too much, it did hurt to see him leave because the two had built such a tight relationship. Brown actually talked to Barnes before the news became official and offered him a scholarship to Syracuse, saying he wanted Barnes to come with him.
That said, Barnes has full confidence in the defensive back coaching leadership of Kirby Smart and Will Muschamp. That duo has taken over his recruitment since the Brown news came out. They had even hinted that Brown could end up leaving in conversations earlier this fall, yet the Bulldogs remained high in Barnes' recruitment.
The reasoning for that is simple. Barnes wants to get to the NFL. His parents tell him to make decisions that will help him accomplish his goals. He feels like Georgia will be a place that can help him do that. Barnes also has full trust that Smart and Muschamp will make a quality hire at defensive backs coach.
Georgia and Ole Miss have been the top two suitors for Barnes for a while. That is still the case, although LSU is making a hard charge now as well.
Those three are in line to receive official visits. A trip to Syracuse is being considered as well. Barnes said Georgia will likely receive the first official visit, although no dates are set up yet.
As for signing, Barnes feels like he will have a good idea of where he wants to go after he takes his officials. At this point he's leaning toward signing in December, although it's still TBD if he's enrolling early or not.
