Ohio tight end and Indiana commit AJ Barner has signed his National Letter of Intent with Indiana.
Ohio tight end and Indiana commit AJ Barner has signed his National Letter of Intent with Indiana on the first day of the Early Signing Period.
Barner visited for the Michigan game on Nov. 23 and then made another visit on Dec. 6 – this one an official visit – and following his official, he notified the Indiana staff that he was flipping his commitment from Ohio to Indiana.
"I just felt like it was the place for me," Barner told TheHoosier.com. "The way they use the tight ends in their offense and from what I saw on the visit, I just felt like it was the right decision."
Barner's relationship with Indiana grew quickly, as the Indiana staff also visited him between his trips to Bloomington after having hosted him for a summer camp but rarely making contact. But Barner began drawing interest from a few Power Five programs, including Michigan State and Pittsburgh, as the end of the cycle neared.
He had been recruited as a tight end for the majority of his recruitment, but Indiana tight ends coach Nick Sheridan believes he can play tight end. That relationship with Sheridan was at the heart of his commitment to Indiana.
“I liked playing defense for a long time, but now that I’ve been playing tight end more and the relationship I have with Coach Sheridan, I could really be a good tight end in the Big Ten, especially with the system that Indiana has – the way they use them and stuff,” Barner said.
Barner won't arrive on campus until June.
