Kiandrea Barker announces he's no longer committed to Penn State
Penn State’s Class of 2025 is back down to 23 players following the announcement Tuesday that running back Kiandrea Barker will be opening up his recruitment. Listed at 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, Barker was one of the first players to join the class back in April 2023.
A native of Beebe, Ark., Barker said at the time that he grew up following Saquon Barkley, which attracted him to Penn State when the Nittany Lions became one of the first schools to offer him. However, since then, PSU has added two more running backs to the class in Alquippa native Tiqwai Hayes and Philadelphia native Jabree Wallace-Coleman. The Nittany Lions also held a commitment at one point from another running back, Alabama native Alvin Henderson. He eventually flipped to Auburn in June.
Following his sophomore season at Beebe, Barker transferred to Texas to play at The Woodlands. However, he was ultimately ruled ineligible by Texas’ University Interscholastic League and was forced to miss out on his junior season.
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“When I transferred, I didn’t tell anybody yet and I posted that I had transferred and they used an image of me in a Beebe jersey,” he explained. “The head coach at my old school didn’t like that. He wanted me to stay and he was mad that I left. He still wanted me to play for him. I get it, but he had to sign me off. He put that when I transferred that I went for athletic purposes, which got the UIL involved.
“In Texas, they don’t play. The UIL is big about recruiting players when you’re not a private school. So that got them involved and I had to miss out on my whole season.”
It looked as if Barker was set to transfer to Miami Central in Florida ahead of his senior season, but he’s now back at his hometown school in Arkansas. Since the spring, he’s added offers from Colorado, Duke and USC, but it was rumored in May that the Razorbacks had his interest when Arkansas offered. There was even talk about him taking an official visit, but Barker ultimately reaffirmed his commitment to Penn State on June 6.
Barker is the latest in what’s been a trend of decommitments for Penn State when it comes to players who had committed early in this class. At the time of his commitment, Barker was the third player to join the class, following offensive lineman Jaelyne Matthews and safety Omari Gaines. Now, Matthews is committed to Rutgers, while Gaines is headed to Stanford. The Nittany Lions also lost a commitment in June when linebacker DJ McClary flipped to the Scarlet Knights. He was also an early commitment at the time, originally announcing his decision to come to Penn State last September.
