EDITOR’S NOTE: Since 2002, the Times Free Press has highlighted the top 12 college football prospects among Chattanooga-area seniors with its preseason Dynamite Dozen. The countdown of this year’s list continues with No. 7.
Having already played for a high-level program early in his high school football career, Kolby Barrett decided prior to his junior season that what would best prepare him for the level he wants to reach is to face elite competition each day at practice and every week on game night.
That led the 6-foot-2, 200-pound safety to leave Alcoa — which has dominated smaller public schools in Tennessee for years — and transfer last year to Baylor, which competes in the TSSAA’s toughest classification (Division II-AAA) and also plays against nationally known prep programs from other states.
The move paid off last season as Barrett excelled against elite competition, proving to be one of the best defensive backs in the state and catching the eyes of college scouts throughout the Southeastern Conference and other Power Four programs.
“I was at Alcoa, playing both sides of the ball and just killing it, and I knew if I came to Baylor and had a good junior season, I could make it happen. So I went all-in,” Barrett said. “I came to Baylor to play in the best division possible before college. I knew I could play at that (college) level because we go up against SEC-level prospects every week.”