Eastern Wayne’s Barrett signs to play football at South Carolina
2 min read
Eastern Wayne senior Nick Barrett completed a lifelong dream of his Wednesday.
The Warriors star defensive lineman signed his national letter of intent to play football at South Carolina. Barrett, an all-WJG Sports and all-Wayne County performer last season, will make a big impact for the Gamecocks.
“It feels great,” he said. “I’m looking forward to getting to Columbia and I think I can be an impact player there. My goal is to be a force on defense and to make the pass rush better so we can win some games.”
Barrett had another excellent season for Eastern Wayne collecting 70 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 15 sacks, and two forced fumbles during his junior season. He was a major bright spot for a Warriors team that struggled to a 1-10 finish in 2019. However, there were still some great memories that Barrett recalled during his time at Eastern Wayne.
“Even though we lost, the game against Goldsboro last year was memorable,” he added. “Also, beating J.H. Rose my freshman year was a big win.”
Now, Barrett will be taking his talents to Columbia where the Gamecocks also struggled, finishing 4-8 this season. South Carolina also recently let go of former head coach Will Muschamp after a second consecutive losing season and hired Shane Beamer last week.
”I think he’ll be as big a part of that program as he was for us,” Eastern Wayne head football coach Leander Oates said. “It’s a special day for our program especially since Nick is one that’s stuck with me from the beginning. I hope that this signing can set the tone for more kids from our program to make the leap and play at the next level.”
Barrett will graduate this month and enroll in college starting in January, one of several prospects across the country that’s taking this route. He plans to study exercise science as a Gamecock starting next semester.
