Catching up with Stephen Barrera

Stephen Barrera talks to Websider's Taylor Hamm about his commitment to Texas A&M and his move from defensive line to offensive line.

Frequently recruits are offered scholarships to play a position that is unfamiliar to them, and this is no different for Stephen Barrera. In 2008, Barrera who stands 6'5" and weighs in at 310lbs, recorded 65 tackles, 13 for a loss, 2 sacks, and one fumble recovery. All of this was done at the defensive line position, but Mike Sherman and his staff feel like Barrera is better fit on the offensive line, specifically right tackle:

"I talked to Coach Sherman yesterday and he talked about how excited he was about getting a new group of guys in. With all of talent we have coming in its easy to feed off what he has to say."

Stephen believes that his decision to move to offensive line will not be a difficult transition:

"I don't think it's going to be that bad. I was on the scout team in high school so I know the role. I'm not to worried about it"

Stephen is doing everything he can to prepare himself for the conversion to right tackle and that includes reading books about professional offensive lineman:

"Right now I am reading a book about offensive lineman. I am trying to figure out how they control and approach the game. I want to come in and make an immediate impact and I know that coach Sherman expects me to compete for a starting spot so that means I need to do everything I can to prepare myself before getting there."

Hard work and fundamentals are what Barrera is focusing on over the summer:

"Coach Kennedy's workout program has me working on my OL steps with lots of reps involved. Physically driving people along with reps at the position are my main concentration points during workouts."

His daily workout schedule is rigorous. Mondays and Wednesdays have a focus on the upper body, Tuesdays and Thursdays aim at the lower body, Fridays and Saturdays concentrate on toning, and Sundays are conditioning.

Barerra plans on playing in the Bayou Bowl on June 12th, and moving in with fellow lineman Rhontae Scales, Clint Naron, and Patrick Lewis the following day.

Stephen has big expectations for his time in Aggieland due mostly to the staff Mike Sherman has with him:

"The entire staff Sherman brought in really impressed me. When I was recruited by teams like Florida and LSU, I looked at their programs and looked at A&M's and thought they had just as good of a staff and facilities as those other two did. Everyone Sherman has on his staff is working hard and doing their part. They care about us individually and how we do on and off the field. That really impressed me and my family."

At the moment Barrera does not plan to redshirt but he plans on competing for a starting spot on the offensive line and he expects the Aggies to compete for championships:

"We want to make a statement that we are here to compete in the Big 12. I want to play in a bowl game and win titles. Big 12 titles, bowl titles, and National Championship titles. I really feel like coach Sherman and his staff are equipped enough to get us there."