Rutgers Scarlet Knights Football Signee Bio: DL Malik Barrow
University of Central Florida graduate transfer defensive lineman Malik Barrow has been announced an official member of this year’s Rutgers Football recruiting class on Wednesday.
SIGN UP FOR PREMIUM NOW AND GET A FREE $75 NIKE GIFT CARD — CLICK HERE FOR MORE!!
Statistics
• Last season at UCF, Barrow appeared in four games total, playing limited snaps. He managed to get two total tackles in those appearances.
• Before UCF, Barrow spent three seasons at Ohio State, but suffered multiple injuries and never saw any playing time.
Recruitment
• Pledged to Rutgers on December 15th, 2019.
• Recruited to Rutgers by head coach Greg Schiano
• Chose Rutgers over Toledo after taking official visits to both campuses.
Did You Know?
• Barrow was originally rated a 5.8, four-star recruit out of IMG Academy back in the class of 2016. He held 22 offers from a ton of programs, including the likes of Alabama, Miami, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Penn State, UCLA and others.
They Said It
• BuckeyeGrove Recruiting Analyst Marc Givler: "Barrow was a player that Ohio State was really excited about early in his career but he could just never stay healthy in Columbus. From shoulder issues to knee issues, it has been a tough road for him over the past few years. During those short stretches of good health in Columbus, there were always positive reports about him and excitement about him from the coaches. If he can just stay healthy he is a guy that could provide a good interior pass rush as a three-technique. He's always been a tough kid with an explosive first step and a great motor."
• Rivals Southeast Analyst Rob Cassidy: “He was a bit raw high school but comes with incredible horsies because of his he’s built and the way he’s retained quickness as he’s grown. He’ll be as successful as Rutgers coaches him to be.”
• TKR Offensive Film Analyst Alec Simpson: “When watching Malik Barrow on tape the immediate thing that stands out right away is how powerful of a player he truly is. When using the word power, I’m mostly describing his get off from his stance, as well as his ability to use power with his lower and upper body strength against the opposition.
Barrow is able to get off the line of scrimmage quickly and engage his opposing lineman with powerful hand usage. He also does a terrific job of getting separation right away with his quickness and is pretty good at using both his “swim” and “dip and rip” move against linemen trying to block him.
One improvement I believe Barrow must make in his game is improving his pad level from his “get off” on the line of scrimmage. Watching his tape from his time at UCF, you can see he gets up off his stance a bit high and the lower man always wins in the trenches. Overall he possesses a lot of great qualities for an interior lineman to be successful and if he can prove he’s healthy he can be a true asset this season for Rutgers.”
