1/26/2016 football Edit

Coaches showing interest in 2017 OL prospect

Huffman (Texas) Hargrave 2017 offensive tackle Dennis Bardwell at the NLA Houston event. (Matt Clare)

Matt Clare • RedRaiderSports

Recruiting Analyst

I write about recruiting and tell stories, been in the game for five years. Thanks for reading, please @ me with any questions because this is all intended to be interactive.

Dozens of underclassmen showed up for the Next Level Athlete Showcase in Houston, Texas over the weekend. One of the standouts from the offensive line group was Huffman (Texas) Hargrave 2017 offensive tackle Dennis Bardwell.

The junior prospect earned the OL MVP on the day and college programs are beginning to notice Bardwell during the open contact period.

"I mostly play guard, but my coaches are moving me to tackle next season because of my size," Bardwell said. "I don't have offers right now, but there have been a lot of coaches showing interest lately. Texas Tech, Texas State, Houston, TCU, Texas, and SMU have all stopped by the school.

"With Texas Tech, I haven't had a lot of communication with their coaches, but my high school coaches told me they were interested and have watched my Hudl tape. The coaches from Houston came by last Friday and invited me to their junior day. I'm going to be attending their junior day this upcoming weekend."

Bardwell does not have any favorites, but did grow up watching a few programs and mentioned the Red Raiders were his current go-to college football program.

"My Dad was a big LSU fan and I always watched them when I was growing up," Bardwell said. "Then it was Baylor for a while, I went to games and everything. Now it's Texas Tech. I just like their football team and the offense they run."

Currently unrated, the 6-foot-5, 275-pound prospect earned District 10-4A Second-Team All-District honors this season.