Short on size, multi-talented Barron weighing his options

Ahmad Barron has the type of personality that easily could make him a fan favorite.

Very much the outgoing type, Barron is an athlete who can make moves on the field and bring together people off of it. In other words, he has leadership skills.

Playing ability? There’s no doubts there. Barron ran for 1,627 yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior as his Tattnall Square football team went 12-1, won the GHSA Region 7-1A championship and made it to the Class 1A private school semifinals. He’s also the starting point guard on his school’s basketball team, which is currently leading its sub-region.

Academics? The first-team All-Middle Georgia football selection has that lined up, too. He says he’s looking to major in engineering, not exactly an easy major.

There’s just one thing that’s giving college football recruiters pause.

Size.

At 5-foot-9 and 174 pounds, Barron doesn’t fit the mold of a high-level collegiate running back. A look at Georgia’s 2016 roster, for example, shows just two running backs or tailbacks of the nine on the Bulldogs’ roster at Barron’s height or smaller, and neither one of those players recorded a carry.

Still, with the stories of smaller players making it big that have been told through the years, wasn’t somebody going to take a chance on Barron?

“That’s a big problem,” Barron said. “All coaches want size nowadays. But my heart? You can’t judge that.”

Height helped one of Barron’s teammates land a college scholarship offer. Wide receiver and strong safety Jimmy Marshall, who at 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds was the tallest player on the Tattnall roster last fall, will be signing with Middle Tennessee when National Signing Day rolls around Wednesday.

Barron didn’t get an offer from Middle Tennessee, but he’s holding out hope for post-signing day offers from programs like those, lower-level FBS and FCS programs who lose players to bigger programs on signing day.

“I see him tweet, ‘Heart over height’ a lot,” Marshall said. “With Ahmad, there’s a whole lot of heart.”

If Barron were to sign Wednesday, Kennesaw State would be a possible landing spot. The young FCS program recruits heavily in-state, and the university’s engineering program — the former Southern Poly program — is attractive. Barron is also considering Reinhardt and the University of the Cumberlands.

Still, Barron is holding out hope for some late interest from bigger programs.

“We’ll see,” Barron said. “I’m just waiting right now, trying to make the best decision for me and my family and see what I can get for the best opportunity.”

This story was originally published January 28, 2017 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Short on size, multi-talented Barron weighing his options."