Barton from Project to Prospect

One of the more intriguing prospects for the 2010 class in South Florida has to be St. Thomas Aquinas offensive lineman Jermaine Barton. The 6-foot-6, 285-pounder certainly looks the part of a big time offensive line prospect, while his play on the field is still a work in progress.

This winter Barton made a huge leap going from a major project to a legit prospect in a matter of months. Go to any Raider practice and you will quickly find, more like hear, the man responsible for Barton’s impressive improvement, offensive line coach Jay Connolly.

“I’ve just been working on my footwork and trying to get in the weight room, that’s it really,” said Barton on his development as lineman. “I really work well with Coach Connolly. He’s a really good coach and taught me a lot.”

That hard work has paid dividends so far for Barton as he has already landed offers from Wisconsin, Purdue, and UConn. He also has Florida, Miami, Rutgers, and Michigan State showing interest.

It is obvious Barton has the size, but what is most impressive about him as a prospect is the agility he possesses. Barton is busy playing AAU basketball currently, and he feels that is a key component to his agility on the football field.

“A lot of footwork goes in when playing the post in basketball. . . Running up and down gets you moving and conditioned. I think that’s why I can move so well.”

This spring Barton worked out at both right and left tackle with Brandon Linder being out with a foot injury. He will stick to right tackle next fall when Linder returns.

Barton talked about what parts of his game he hopes to improve upon.

“I just want to continue to get in the weight room and work on my footwork, also not ducking so much when I run block.”

As of now Barton is hoping to camp at Florida this summer.