Anthony Barr (6-4, 230, 4.5) of Torrance Loyola, California might be the most incredible athlete in the country. There are not too many tailbacks in America on any level who are as big as Barr and the only tailback that comes to my mind is the Louisiana High School star and of New York Giants fame, Brandon Jacobs.
Jacobs was about 230 pounds when he came out of Napoleonville Assumption High School. Jacobs carried the football on every play in high school and he also returned punts and kickoffs, and that was when he was weighing 230 pounds or more.
Another thing that reminds me about Barr and Jacobs is that they both lined-up about 8 to 10 yards deep in the top of the I-Formation. Barr is a little different in that he takes a lot of handoffs into the line, off tackle, but when he takes a deep pitch, he is also an excellent cutback player who cuts back against the grain and many times he gets the extra yard.
Barr is one of the best running backs that I have see this year in getting the exrtra yard after contact. I believe that we call it the YAC or in layman words, Yards After Contact. On his highlight film, Barr scored three touchdowns after he was hit several times at the line of scrimmage. As a junior, he rushed for 1,890 yards and scored 20 touchdowns
Barr is a the son of the former famous running back Tony Brooks who played for Notre Dame. His uncle Reggie Brooks, is another Notre Dame Super Star. It has been rumored for a long time that Barr was leaning heavily to the Irish, but as the start of football season, he has still not yet pulled the trigger.
As I have said, on his highlight film, Barr is as good of a tailback as I have seen on film this year, but some scouts think that he may play defense at the next level, or he might even play tight end. I still think that he will be a star running back at whatever school that he ends up go to.
Barr has over thirty offers, but he has narrowed his choices to five schools including Notre Dame, Southern Cal, UCLA, Michigan, and California. He has already been to fall workouts at both Southern Cal and UCLA and he likes both of those Los Angeles schools, but also likes Notre Dame, Michigan, and Cal.
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