Corona Santiago’s Blake Barnett commits to Alabama

Blake Barnett, the standout senior quarterback from Corona Santiago who two weeks ago announced he was no longer committed to Notre Dame, said Wednesday he has committed to Alabama and is shutting down the recruiting process.

“I’m relieved and excited to be part of Alabama and what they have to offer,” he said.

Barnett had been committed to Notre Dame since November, but he said, “As time went on, it confirmed in my mind I made the wrong decision. I realized that when I wanted to take visits to other schools.”

The football recruiting process has been particularly unpredictable this year in Southern California at the quarterback position. Ricky Town, a senior at Ventura St. Bonaventure, was once committed to Alabama. Now he’s committed to USC, whose former coach, Lane Kiffin, helped recruit Barnett to Alabama.

Oregon, which tried to recruit Barnett, made an offer Wednesday to San Clemente quarterback Sam Darnold. Alabama was also recruiting Anaheim Servite quarterback Travis Waller, who could end up at Notre Dame.

“It’s kind of a crazy business seeing these colleges change their minds and kids, too,” Barnett said. “It’s hard to stay with the same mindset through all this. It’s the hardest thing. A lot of my friends are going through the same thing. It could be stressful, but we’re all getting used to it.”

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