I met Brandon Barnett today

[Hawgon]

He seemed to be a pretty nice kid, but he is small.  I would say he is no more than about 5-6, 5-8 at the absolute most.  He said he has one more semester in J.C..  He also had nice shiny gold grill, top and bottom along with some nice bling.  It was all kind of distracting really.

[WichitaStateRazorback]

Ive often wonderd if food gets stuck in the bling

[Hawgon]

Ive often wonderd if food gets stuck in the bling

He looked like that guy in the old James Bond movies, except it was all gold.  It was really hard to look at his face.

[Ugly Uncle]

Ive often wonderd if food gets stuck in the bling

He looked like that guy in the old James Bond movies, except it was all gold.  It was really hard to look at his face.

Not everyone can have a face as pretty as mine.

[HawgnDos]

Every time I see those grills the only thing I can thnk of is, WHAT THE F***?  Bless his heart he is probably a fine kid but if you can't stand to look at his face then what kind of conversation can you have with the young man?  You know he probably spent $100 or more on that set so you can't dis him for that.  Obviously that is just not a part of my generation.

[bald hog]

I had the pleasure watching several of his games back in high school. He was good but the back that replaced him broke his rushing record (1700 yds). Dennis"DJ" Johnson was only a soph. He will be all everything the next two years.

[pseudorabies]

I hope all that "bling" doesn't slow him down any.

[HogFather]

Maybe it's just a permanent mouth piece.

[The_Bionic_Pig]

I and Battlehawg watched him play in the All-star game in Shreveport almost 2 yrs ago.  He is Ahmad Carrol fast which pretty much makes him the fastest guy next fall when he steps on campus.

[NATEHOGG216]

and with all that bling on his grill, the light will probably reflect off him and blind the defenders trying to tackle him.  WPS

[hogsrmyfav36]

I and Battlehawg watched him play in the All-star game in Shreveport almost 2 yrs ago.  He is Ahmad Carrol fast which pretty much makes him the fastest guy next fall when he steps on campus.

Hard to believe he might be faster than McFadden.  If so, good for us!

[HogFather]

and with all that bling on his grill, the light will probably reflect off him and blind the defenders trying to tackle him.  WPS

Like a deer in headlights.

[moellerboi]

McFadden beat him 2 years in a row in the 40 yard dash tourney that they have at the HDN camps.  It wasn't by much, though. 

[dasheets12]

hate to say this, but im not sure if he's sec durable, i went to hs with him, and he was always hurt, from soph to senior. knee or ankle injury constantly. he's tough though. he played through it all, but im not sure if he can take the sec wear and tear if he got banged around in hs like that.

dennis johnson also goes to my hs, and i agree he will be or may already be better than barnett. he's about 5'8-5'9 180-190, and a bowling ball. great moves, vision, hands, and good speed. reminds me of a quentin griffin out of oklahoma a few years ago.
but sadly, like most texarkana athletes, he has discipline AND academic problems. (ex. both barnett boys rerouted to juco bc of academics, willie whitmore in the early 2000's blew career due to discipline.)

[Vandyhog4]

hate to say this, but im not sure if he's sec durable, i went to hs with him, and he was always hurt, from soph to senior. knee or ankle injury constantly. he's tough though. he played through it all, but im not sure if he can take the sec wear and tear if he got banged around in hs like that.

dennis johnson also goes to my hs, and i agree he will be or may already be better than barnett. he's about 5'8-5'9 180-190, and a bowling ball. great moves, vision, hands, and good speed. reminds me of a quentin griffin out of oklahoma a few years ago.
but sadly, like most texarkana athletes, he has discipline AND academic problems. (ex. both barnett boys rerouted to juco bc of academics, willie whitmore in the early 2000's blew career due to discipline.)

What is it with Texarkana?  There is a lot of talent there that never seems to get harnessed.  It looks like Texas High has their stuff together with regards to develping players and getting them recruited.  What gives with Arkansas High?

[dasheets12]

that's been the big question for years. the whitmore kid was headed to nebraska to play rb when that was a big deal.

IMO, ultimately the way a kid acts is reflected upon the parenting. whatever they have been rooted in for all their life is what they ultimately revert to. so....when a kid figures out he can do something with his athletic talent he may try to change, but in the end, he'll revert back to how he's been his whole life.
they want to do big things, but there's a lack of discipline that cant be taught in a short period of time, it has to be instilled in them as a child for years.

so that's my opinion, and also the fact of peer pressure. everyone wants to be the hs stud, they don't focus on long term goals, they just want to be the ones at the weekend party people talk about monday at school.

[dasheets12]

oh, and about t-high, they have an excellent coach staff. barry norton is IMO a top tier hs coach.
he's grown the tigers into a nationally know school. he gets transfers from everywhere local(mallett from hooks) and he's just gotten a boy from cali to come play(i think rb??)
 

[Zen_Hog]

Grills cost like 200. Depends if you get gold or platinum. You take em out when you eat lol. And yeah, some people do use grills as a mouthpiece.

[Oklahawg]

Griffith is not what you'd call "fast".

Guys like Barnett have to have a little bit of Barry Sanders in them--the ability to avoid the big hit. Else, they'll be so beat up they are not good for more than 10 carries a game, or so.

[J_Ville_Devils_Den]

A little useless information on "Grillz"



Smile For me...


http://kron.com/Global/story.asp?s=%20%201301195
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON)  --  They're gold, platinum and studded with diamonds or other stones. "Whatever shines the hardest," says one big fan.

But this is no ordinary jewelry. It's worn right on the teeth like a retainer, uppers and lowers. It's a fashion popularized by hip hop rap artists.

You can see the hint of a golden glint on rap artists like hit man "Sammy Sam" and "Master P."

But out on the street, it's about "bling." Bling means 'sparkle,' and lots of it.

"I keep it PI, keep it smooth, " says Jomo. "I wear them on the bottom teeth. So it look like I got gold teeth every time I talk to someone."

They call them grills, fronts, slugs, or jibbies. And the man behind the Bling is jeweler Charles Kirish of the Mr. Bling Bling store in Hayward.

He's one artist who makes the customized grills. At $30 a tooth, a full set can cost anywhere from $180 to $3,000 depending on the Bling involved.

And Mr. Bling Bling has the full range of customers.

"The youngest person was 4-years-old," laughs Kirish. "A lot of hip-hop listeners. I do have some thugs, yeah. I like them all; they're real good friends of mine, too."

The grills are nothing new. But the fascination with gold is the subject of a recent documentary produced by two Stanford graduate students.

Rich Harris III says there's a cultural connection. "It goes back to African history, because kings of Ghana were wearing gold," he says. "You look at the pictures of Ashanti kings, then you look at picture of Mr. T or a rapper named Slick Rick. You'll see the pictures look almost the same."

Even with that cultural history, gold grills have crossed all racial lines. Any young fan of rap has coveted a set of 'fronts.' Besides, they're practical jewelry. Kirish makes this point: "If someone steals your necklace, they can wear them," he says. "But these you can't. Teeth are all different, like fingerprints."

How they're made is a trade secret. Kirish will only reveal he'll take a mold of the teeth and then use wax and gold to cast them. They have to be cleaned, buffed and shined at least every two weeks.

Kirish has seen all kinds of teeth in various stages of decay, but the customer still wanted his grill. "I've seen some challenging teeth," he says. "Missing teeth. Saw a guy with only three teeth, wanted eight gold teeth to cover them."

Some dentists say grills can't harm the teeth as long as they're removed before eating and sleeping.

Then there's the matter of hygiene. "You know you keep them in so long," laughs Jomo. "Your breath start stinking. Take 'em out!"

[dasheets12]

i'd say griffin* has good speed, he'd have to be to play the position at that level. i think dj has about the same amount of speed, maybe a tad faster. and he was durable.

[thahawg]

that's been the big question for years. the whitmore kid was headed to nebraska to play rb when that was a big deal.

IMO, ultimately the way a kid acts is reflected upon the parenting. whatever they have been rooted in for all their life is what they ultimately revert to. so....when a kid figures out he can do something with his athletic talent he may try to change, but in the end, he'll revert back to how he's been his whole life.
they want to do big things, but there's a lack of discipline that cant be taught in a short period of time, it has to be instilled in them as a child for years.

so that's my opinion, and also the fact of peer pressure. everyone wants to be the hs stud, they don't focus on long term goals, they just want to be the ones at the weekend party people talk about monday at school.

Whitmore was a bigtime talent. I remember the night he ran for like 400 yards against us at QB. And after the game that night he stabbed some guy or something like that.

[dasheets12]

you from lake hamilton?

[thahawg]

you from lake hamilton?

Yeah you must have been there too.

[dasheets12]

yeah, it was a good game !!

[thahawg]

Didn't he break a record yards in a game or TDs?

[dasheets12]

ooooo, not sure on that one

[Cure]

Barnett was the MVP of the Arkansas High School All-Star game 2 years back, he looked incredibly fast and had lightning quick moves, I think we'll have the best stable of backs on the Hill at one time EVER..This year's backs will be 2nd to next year's  :razorback:

[tkhog]

hate to say this, but im not sure if he's sec durable, i went to hs with him, and he was always hurt, from soph to senior. knee or ankle injury constantly. he's tough though. he played through it all, but im not sure if he can take the sec wear and tear if he got banged around in hs like that.

dennis johnson also goes to my hs, and i agree he will be or may already be better than barnett. he's about 5'8-5'9 180-190, and a bowling ball. great moves, vision, hands, and good speed. reminds me of a quentin griffin out of oklahoma a few years ago.
but sadly, like most texarkana athletes, he has discipline AND academic problems. (ex. both barnett boys rerouted to juco bc of academics, willie whitmore in the early 2000's blew career due to discipline.)

What is it with Texarkana?  There is a lot of talent there that never seems to get harnessed.  It looks like Texas High has their stuff together with regards to develping players and getting them recruited.  What gives with Arkansas High?

I, having attended both the Texarkana Arkansas and Texas public shools, will tell it like it is.  The first main difference is academics.  On the Texas side, from the 8th grade on, athletes are required to maintain a "C" average or they will not be allowed to play, whereas in Arkansas grades don't effect eligibility until the second semester of an athlete's freshman year.  The second main difference is discipline.  The Texarkana, Arkansas schools are a little biased towards their athletes when it comes to discipline.  In fact, as many problems as possible will be handled within the athletic department to cut down on principal interference.  The Texas side administrators and teachers don't understand 40 times and vertical jumps, just the subjects they are instructed to teach.  Last, but not least, is the enviroment.  Texas High has less "illegal activity" going on than Arkansas High, causing a better enviroment for competition and learning.