New Orleans, LA. based high school football & basketball reporter & Louisiana prep recruiting insider.
New Orleans — Booker T. Washington RB Arnold Barnes is one of the rising names in the Pelican State. The 2023 prospect had a breakout sophomore season in 2020 in which he rushed for 1,031 yards and 9 TDs on 81 carries — which included a 145 yard, 1 TD performance against Isidore Newman that was nationally televised on ESPN.
Arnold Barnes celebrates as he crosses the end zone for a touchdown run during a nationally televised game against Isidore Newman. (Sophia Germer)
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The 5’10, 190 lb. ball-carrier known as ‘Duda’ looks to build on last season’s success and carry that momentum into his junior campaign. “My expectations moving forward is to leave no doubt after my junior season who’s the #1 back in the state and then focus on improving my national ranking.
“This past offseason for me has centered around film study, speed training and strength & conditioning to ensure I perform at a high level this upcoming season. I’m looking to show my explosive lateral movements and my separation beyond the 2nd level to turn 15-20 yard gains people saw on film last year into homeruns.”
With former teammate Tyrese Johnson off to college at the University of Memphis, Barnes fully expects to receive a lot more attention from defenses this fall. “I’m aware that the teams we are going to play are going to adjust to the run game.
I know going into this season I’m going to be the focal point of our opponents and how they’re going to adjust their defense to stop the run game.”
Barnes has also been camping this spring and summer. He’s attended camps at UL-Lafayette, LSU, Kentucky, Louisville, The Show, SPE and he plans to be at the University of Houston’s camp at the end of the month.
“I can’t say for sure that going to these camps has made me any better as a player because my entire offseason has been a GRIND like no other. What I can say is I’ve had a chance to see some 5 and 4 star recruits up close and in person and I just feel like I’m just as good, if not better, than some of those guys at my position.”
Barnes goes through a drill during LSU’s 2021 camp (Julie Boudwin)
While in Louisville, he did get a chance to take an unofficial visit on the University of Louisville’s campus. “I had a chance to check out Louisville and their facilities are A+ in my eyes. One thing I liked is that the airport is only 15 minutes away from the school.”
As of now, ‘Duda’ only has one college offer and that is from in-state school Louisiana Tech. “Currently I only hold an offer from Louisiana Tech and I don’t have any clear favorite at this point because coaching staffs change overnight. Many schools have been doing basic points of contact but it’s hasn’t been anything that has stood out at this point.”
For the immediate future, don’t expect Barnes to put too much thought into his recruitment. “Two weeks from now, I’ll lock in to prepare for the season and my recruiting process will be on the shelf until 2022. After Houston, I’ll be officially done with camps and visist for this summer. I’m starting to lock in with the team and our summer workouts. I want to get mentally and physically prepared for the upcoming season.”
Stay tuned to Pelican Preps for more updates on Arnold and more Louisiana prospects.
