Commitment Report: Ty Barron (2018)

He had other sure thing options he could have taken. He had offers from more than one school, but when it came down to it, Minnetonka's <strong>Ty Barron</strong> was so impressed with the Minnesota Gophers' football program that he decided to roll the dice – turn down scholarship money up front - and sign on as a preferred walk-on with the Gophers. "When I went to visit Minnesota, it was so different," Barron said. "Other places there was kind of the same feeling but when I went to Minnesota it was up-tempo, it was progressive and was going in the right direction. The culture there is so much different than what I had experienced before. Whether it was on the field or off the field, you could tell there was something great happening there. I wanted to be a part of that." South Dakota State and Minnesota-Duluth were the two schools that Barron could have signed with and gotten a scholarship. With SDSU and UMD there was talk of Barron playing fullback. With the Gophers, the early plan for Barron is to start out at middle linebacker. "They like the instincts I have for the game," Barron explained. "They like my aggressiveness and toughness. The coaches think they can work with my skill set." Part of the reason the Gophers extended a PWO offer to Barron is the passion he has for the program itself. "They liked that I was an in-state guy," Barron told northstarfootballnews.com. "Since I was little, I wanted to go to Minnesota, and they liked that I wanted to build the program." Barron doesn't know what to expect as far as red-shirting or competing for playing time right away, but he is going into practices and off-season workouts with an open mind and hopefully a bigger and quicker body. "I need to work on my speed and quickness," NFN's 23rd-ranked senior said. "Increasing my reaction time will be big for me – getting quicker, faster and more reactive." Some of that reaction work will come on the lacrosse field. "I have been playing lacrosse since third grade. It has really helped me with my footwork defensively – having to cover guys defensively is great as an all-around workout." All-around, Barron is taking a risk. With the new vibe around the Minnesota program, it is a risk in which he wants to be involved. It is a risk with which he will realize a dream.