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Florida, the domain of Utah recruiters Kalani Sitake and Dennis Erickson, is picking up some Ute fans.
Trinity Christian Academy's Chris Barr became the latest Florida product to commit to the U. on Wednesday, tweeting the following:
I have officially committed to the UNIVERSITY OF UTAH. pic.twitter.com/X4eqFTiG3A
— Chris Barr (@2SmoothChris) August 20, 2014It's Utah's second commitment from the Sunshine State — and more specifically, the Jacksonville area — in less than a week. Over the weekend, Utah received a verbal pledge from Ed White High running back Taylor Thomas.
It doesn't hurt that he'll see some familiar faces in Salt Lake City. Incoming cornerback transfer Ahmad Christian is a fellow Trinity Christian alum and, though a few years older, friends with Barr. Barr played 7-on-7 on a travel team with Utah freshman wideout Kenric Young and grew up playing Pop Warner with Thomas.
"He's a great player," Barr said of Thomas. "He's great in open space."
His Rivals profile lists 11 other offers, including Louisville, Pittsburgh, Maryland and Wisconsin, but Barr said he's 100 percent committed to Utah.
Trinity Christian defensive coordinator Gerard Ross told The Tribune on Wednesday that Utah is getting "a very explosive" athlete who runs a 10.7 100 meters and expects to get faster during his senior year.
"He's a very laid-back kid," Ross said. "Very rarely will you see him talking. ... Great teammate."
Barr said Sitake told him that, at least initially, it's Barr's decision which side of the ball he'll play on at the U. He hasn't made his mind up yet, but he knows he wants to study criminal justice and become an FBI agent.
Here are some of Barr's highlights, playing wide receiver, running back, cornerback and returning kicks for Trinity Christian:
— Matthew Piper
mpiper@sltrib.com
Twitter: @matthew_piper