4-Star Alabama Target with 29 Offers Makes Big Georgia Admission That Could Threaten Kalen DeBoer’s Recruiting

The recruitment battle is shaping the pre-spring portal discussion in college football. Alabama and Kalen DeBoer try to flip the script on their wasted first year under the new coach with a strong portal jump. The coaching staff was actively on the road recruiting, utilizing the last few days before the dead period ticked on the calendar. After stockpiling for this year’s production, DeBoer and his staff moved on to the next. They have already landed some key players in the class of 2026, including offensive lineman Chris Booker and edge rusher Jamarion Matthews. But as they strive for more, key SEC rival Kirby Smart gets in the way.

4-star WR Corey Barber, who stunned with a total of 74 catches for 1,429 yards and 18 TDs in his junior year, managed to catch the eyeballs of 29 college football programs who officially extended an offer to him, widening the choice. However, among all these suitors, Alabama and Kalen DeBoer come near the top. Since handing in an offer in early February, they never stopped pushing for the Spain Park High School player.

The Crimson Tide will host him back on campus on March 22. Meanwhile, Alabama’s staff is leaving no stone unturned in maintaining close and consistent contact with him. “Me, Shep (JaMarcus Shephard) and coach Roach, we stay in touch a lot,” Barber said in a past interview with Touchdown. “They really push hard. They show me real love. That is one of the places I could probably see myself calling home. They told me they made me one of their top priorities.” However, another fierce competitor in Barber’s recruitment race is the Bulldogs, and the latest intel seems Smart is on the cusp of dishing heartbreak to the fellow SEC coach (DeBoer). The Spain Park product had his first visit to Athens on March 14th and reportedly had a great experience with the coaches and players.

He watched the Bulldogs hustling through spring practices and couldn’t love it enough. 

“The practice environment was live and intense,” Barber told DawgsHQ. “You got to be a dog out there. The energy was intense out there. It’s an elite atmosphere, it’s dawg on dawg; you have to earn every rep.” He felt so intrigued after the first in-person meet with head coach Kirby Smart and WR coach James Coley about the entire program that he didn’t take time to lock in a second (the first official) visit to the city on June 20.

Corey Barber deems Georgia as a perfect match for his distinctive playing approach

The Waffle House isn’t just blown away by how aggressively the Georgia coaches pursue him from the start. The motive is deeper than that. The 6 ft 1, 185-pound rising senior showcased premium arm talent in his breakout year. Spsin Park head coach Tim Vakakes deems him a lot more than just a superior talent. There is a fine line between talent and elite. Barber is elite in his own right. Coach Vakakes said that he knows how to keep the main things in focus, how to perfect his craft, take charge, be the leader, and own accountability. One other thing that’s most pivotal about his intangibles is his fierce competitive spirit, something that Georgia ticks into.

Barber is a kid who never hesitates to speak candidly about the things that matter to him the most. Even after his first-ever visit to Athens, the four-star prospect seems to be in awe of the atmosphere; the culture seems like a fit. Barber is a competitive football player. To him, the tradition and culture in Athens crave competitive people in their WR room. So the alignment will be easy.

“Watching the intensity of practice kind of turned me up,” Barber said. “I’m very competitive, so I love to see dawgs go at it. It’s still kind of early to put anyone anywhere at this point, but I will say I was impressed.”

However, On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine still favors in-state Alabama over the Dawgs. The Crimson Tide has a 28.6 percent chance of landing the four-star wide receiver, while Georgia stands at 6.4 percent. But since it’s always the intuition, the first-hand impression over the second-party prediction, DeBoer needs to be on his toes.