Fredericksburg (Va.) Riverbend tight end Mathias “Mega” Barnwell was committed to Penn State for over seven months from June of 2020 to January of this year. The junior backed off that pledge, however, citing concerns that he had rushed his decision without seeing many of his options. On Saturday, Barnwell came full circle and re-committed to James Franklin and the Nittany Lions. He announced his intentions while on campus for an unofficial visit as Penn State hosted Villanova.
“Penn State treats my whole family with class,” Barnwell told 247Sports this week. “My baby sister loves going up there. She knows all the coaches’ names and she is six. My 14-year-old sister, she likes to wear the Lawn Boyz chain. We always have a really good time up there.”
The 6-foot-6, 255-pound prospect was on campus last weekend for the White Out and reconfirmed his earlier thoughts about the program.
“It’s such a good atmosphere,” he said. “We went to the White Out my freshman year. It was great. This time there were so many more tailgaters when I was walking through it. Just seeing the student section, and I got to talk to some people who go to Penn State about the campus and stuff like that, so it was a great weekend. It was truly amazing. The fans were just so crazy and up and into the game. Everybody is so nice up there. My family had a great time.”
Barnwell’s recruitment took off after he backed off his initial pledge in January. Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon and others came through with scholarship offers to add to an earlier haul which included Duke, Tennessee, Virginia and Virginia Tech. Franklin, are recruiter Ja’Juan Seider and tight ends coach Ty Howle were active in his recruitment.
“Coach Ty is a great guy. He really teaches passion and he is always excited about his players’ success and stuff like that,” said Barnwell. “He is a really enthusiastic person. He has a great bond with everybody in my family and he really did take the time to get to know me after coach [Tyler] Bowen left and my decommitment and everything like that. He took the time to get to know my family and I, and that is when he really started to push my recruitment.
“[Franklin] is still the same. He didn’t treat us any different after the decommitment. It is still the same message — he wants me to come play for him and he thinks I am a great guy.”
His big frame and athleticism have intrigued schools since he came onto the radar as a freshman. Penn State is looking at him as a tight end, while Notre Dame offered as a defensive lineman. Other schools have talked about Barnwell playing along the offensive line in college.
“Most schools are recruiting me for tight end right now, but there is a chance I could switch to offensive line at the next level. We are just going to see how that works out,” he said. “I love playing tight end. I love what we have to do. We have to be a big asset in the blocking game. We have to be a big asset in the passing game. I like being relied on by my teammates.”
Barnwell is the third commitment for the Nittany Lions in the Class of 2023, joining Virginia offensive lineman Alex Birchmeier and Pennsylvania cornerback Lamont Payne. The Barnwell commitment gives Penn State pledges from two of the top five prospects in Virginia in the early Class of 2023 rankings.
