Arlington Larmar WR Kofi Boateng Talks Record Setting Season and Arkansas Razorbacks

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

Arlington Lamar High School Class of 2016 wide receiver Kofi Boateng has been a marked man on the Texas high school gridirons and on the national recruiting trail over the past two years. In the neighborhood of 30 scholarship offers from top programs around the nation, the 6’1”, 180 pound, receiver rolled with the Arkansas Razorbacks on Aug. 22, gambling on a previous one-dimensional offense becoming more balanced.

First-year offensive coordinator Dan Enos did not disappoint Boateng, other recruits, current players, or the Arkansas fan base turning senior quarterback Brandon Allen into one of the top pocket passers in the SEC showing signs of an even more dangerous offense for years to come.

Enos in return has to be pleased with the work and progress Boateng has turned in during his senior campaign. In November, Boateng set school and city records with 25 career touchdown receptions. Despite opposing defensive coordinators game planning to stop the Arkansas verbal commit, Boateng set career school records for yards and receptions to go along with his touchdown totals. For the season, he posted 46 receptions for 780 yards with 11 touchdowns after helping the Vikings to the third round of the playoffs.

Now that the excitement of the season has started to die down, I caught up with Kofi to get his thoughts on his record setting season, Arkansas’ offensive production in 2015 under Enos, and a recruiting news update.

Interview

Kofi, first, congratulations on a great senior season.

“Thank you.”

With a little time between you and the season to analyze what all went down, how did the season go for you overall?

“It was slow at the beginning. I was fighting back from an injury over the summer and then I was injured again during a scrimmage before our first game. I missed our first game but I was back for our second game. In my first game back I had 100 yards and two touchdowns. Most of the year was an up and down season. As the season went on we got progressively better.

“In the playoffs we had some nail biters. We had a 93-yard kick return for a touchdown to win one game (beat Abilene 39-33). We won our second game (42-35 over Eastwood) but then we lost our third game (34-29 – Mansfield). The season as a whole was pretty good. Mansfield was a physical game, they were the most physical team we played this season.”

How was your progression on the field from your junior to senor seasons as a wide receiver?

“I got better at pushing my routes and running crisper routes, that was my aim.”

You set the city record with 25 career touchdowns, now up to 26. How was that moment for you knowing you were in the record book?

“Somebody had mentioned it to me. I had not checked on it to see how close I was to the record. Last year I was close to breaking the single-season receiving yards record. I didn’t think too much about it. We were in the middle of a tight game, I took it in after the game.”

How does it feel to have the school career marks for yards, receptions, and touchdowns as well?

“It’s great knowing that I worked hard over the last two years with positive results. Breaking the records was not something I was thinking about when I started playing my sophomore year. Knowing I have them is a blessing. Setting those records pushes another receiver in the future to do better. I like knowing that what I have done during my career will help another receiver push himself to have a better high school career than I was lucky to have had.”

On the recruiting news front, are any schools actively trying to flip you away from the Razorbacks?

“I have not been in contact with other schools. After I committed, I was getting some mail from Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Kansas State. The full recruiting press all died once I committed.”

What are your thoughts on seeing Dan Enos’ balanced offense at Arkansas this year? Are you excited now more than ever about going up to Fayetteville?

“I am excited. This year I watched all the games. I watched more than I talked to the coaches about the offense. I was more concerned about seeing it than hearing it from the coaches. Their balanced offense was really good. Hopefully we can put it all together and challenge teams like Alabama and LSU for SEC titles.”

Do you have any visits planned coming up?

“I’m taking my official to Arkansas coming up.”

Is there any part of the visit that you are getting excited about?

“I’m just excited to get around the football players. I’m excite to be with everyone there and seeing more of the campus.”

Have you started your offseason workouts yet?

“Not yet. This is my first week off from football. I’m letting my body recover from the season. In a week or two start I’ll start focusing on my workouts.”

What are your offseason workout goals?

“To get bigger, stronger, and faster.”

Are you helping recruit any players to Arkansas right now?

“Yes.”

Are you able to name any of them?

“Yes, I’m talking to Eric Cuffee (DB Waco, TX), Eno Benjamin (2017 RB Wylie, TX), Baron Browning (2017 LB Kennedale, TX), Kristian Fulton (DB Metairie, LA), and Levi Onwuzurike (DE Allen, TX).”

That’s a great group of recruits. Good luck with that and good luck with your offseason workouts. Thanks for your time today Kofi.

“Thank you and your welcome.”

Photo credit: dfw.com; No. 2 Kofi Boateng.

Photo credit: twitter.com; Kofi Boateng in action.

Photo credit: Boateng family; Kofi (left) with Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema (left center).