STEPHENS CITY — Don’t bother asking any Sherando Warriors which of their senior tight end’s attributes is the most potent.
According to coach Bill Hall, Brian Barlow runs routes exceptionally well.
“Great,” Hall said of Barlow’s patterns. “Probably the best I’ve ever worked with in high school, without a doubt.”
Then again, Barlow has great mitts.
“He’s probably got some of the best hands on the team,” wide receiver Derek Crosen said.
But certainly it’s Barlow’s impressive size and speed that makes him unique.
“He’s big — 6-4, 220 [pounds] — where he can be physical at the point of attack, but yet he can also get in open space,” Hall said. “We can spread him out and [he] creates a good mismatch against the defensive backs.”
Of course, that size wouldn’t be much help if Barlow was out of shape.
“He’s probably five to 10 percent body fat, so he’s ripped at that weight,” Hall said. “He can throw 40 pounds on that frame and not think twice about it just because he has a good frame that he can put weight on. He’s got good bone structure and things like that.”
Barlow’s attitude is hard to overlook, as well.
“He would never ask to come out of a ballgame,” Hall said. “When he gets on the football field, he’s a fierce competitor. Probably the most competitive kid we have on the team.”
The scariest thing for opponents, however, might be that Barlow’s skills on offense are at least matched by his abilities at defensive end.
“I think I probably like defense better,” Barlow said when pressed to pick his preferred unit. “Just because you can always kill somebody. I’ve just got that defensive mentality.”
Barlow registered 18 receptions for 246 yards and a pair of touchdowns a year ago for Sherando after a 30-catch, 386-yard sophomore campaign in 2005. At defensive end, he racked up 49 tackles and two sacks. This season, he will help senior defensive tackle Joey Christine anchor an otherwise young defensive line while simultaneously providing junior quarterback Ross Metheny a handy weapon.
“Any time you have a 6-4, 215 [pound] guy running down the field, it’s easy to find him and get him the ball,” Metheny said. “We definitely try to utilize that.”
Barlow’s made the most of his size. When Hall invited Leslie Bonci, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s director of sports medicine nutrition, to campus two years ago to speak to Sherando athletes, Barlow, Crosen and Metheny got personalized nutritional regimens from her and followed them closely.
“They do everything the proper way,” Hall said, meaning without supplements or steroids. “Those guys, if you look at their bodies, they’re sculpted at those weights.”
Those three, along with Christine, have garnered attention from various college programs. Barlow went to a few I-AA invitational camps over the summer, and plans to make visits to Liberty, James Madison and Richmond this summer. Hall said both Crosen and Barlow impressed coaches with their receiving skills.
“That was the constant — how complimentary they were of their route-running ability,” Hall said. “If they don’t get offers, it won’t be because of the finer points of route-running and being in shape. They’re maximizing all those things. I think that’s what I’m most proud of those guys.
“[Barlow]’s maximizing his potential as an athlete, and as a result he can do almost anything he wants out there just because he’s at the highest level that he can achieve.”
Barlow said he thinks he’s undersized to play defensive line in college, and that his workouts in college camps have predominantly been at tight end. But in the Northwestern District, he’s a man among boys.
“On the field he’s like a double threat,” Crosen said, referring to Barlow’s blocking and receiving. “To find a tight end like that, with his agility and speed and everything like that, you don’t find many of them. It’s rare.”
