Interview: Conway QB Breylin Smith talks preferred walk-on offer with Arkansas

Written by Ryan Wright

Over the weekend top recruits from around the region got an opportunity to strut their stuff for the Razorback football staff during an on-campus Arkansas one-day camp. Among the many to show out included Conway quarterback Breylin Smith.

Smith, 6’3”, 190 pounds, gained national recruiting interest lining up under center for Conway in as a junior in 2014 leading to interest from teams like Georgia, Ole Miss, Texas, Oklahoma State, Auburn, Missouri, Tulsa, Memphis, and Louisiana-Monroe among others. Throughout the summer Smith has made the one-day camp circuit rounds but landed a surprise offer from the Hogs on Saturday, a preferred walk-on offer.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview I caught up with Breylin to get the inside scoop on how the offer went down, his thoughts on possibly becoming a Razorback, and where his recruiting stands today with several Division-I programs.

 

Breylin, how did the Arkansas Razorbacks camp go for you on Saturday?

“Overall it went pretty good, from the 40’s, the 5-10-5, my broad jump wasn’t too good, but throwing the ball and all the drills it went really good.”

Focusing on your passing, which routes were you connecting on well during the camp?

“I threw the post really well, the comebacks, and I threw a couple of corner routes to the tight ends that were really good. I had some straight over the top and over the shoulder. I threw another corner route in 7×7 drills that was pretty good.”

Were there any receivers that you connected with really well during the camp?

“Ahh, in 7×7 there was a kid from Cabot (Holdyn Barnes) that I threw really well with him.”

Obviously the camp went really getting the preferred walk-on offer. What did the coaches talk to you about after the camp?

“I went into Coach B’s (head coach Bret Bielema) office afterwards. He said I threw the ball really well. He also said Coach Enos was impressed, that was the first time Coach Enos had seen me. I haven’t had a chance to get up there with everything going on. He said Coach Enos was impressed and thought I threw the ball well. He said I’ve gotten a lot bigger. So that’s good.”

How did Coach Bielema set up the offer for you to be a preferred walk-on?

“He had me and my family come into his office. He sat us down and talked to us and was completely honest. He let us know they have already offered a quarterback but he really wanted me to come and be in the program. After that he just kind of explained it to us and that’s how it kind of went down?”

What was your reaction to being offered a preferred walk-on spot with the Hogs?

“Honestly I was shocked. I didn’t think they would entertain having another quarterback since they have Cole Kelly committed to them. I was shocked for a little bit and then it sat in after a couple of minutes. Then I was thinking, “dang I could actually play for the Hogs.” It’s cool and an honor that he would like to have me up there. I just think it’s really cool.”

How did you leave everything with Coach Bielema? Is this a wait-and-see proposition or are you supposed to get back to Coach Bielema within a certain timeframe with your decision?

“I told him that I would talk to my family and I would talk to my dad about it. You know how that kind of goes. He said, “Hey you go think about it and let me know. He didn’t really give a time table”

Do you have a timeline in your head of when you may make a decision on picking a school or will this be an ongoing potential decision that could go throughout your senior season?

“I’d like to make a decision as early as I can somewhere before the football season so this will be off my shoulders and I can focus on football and trying to win a state championship. I’m not going to rush it. I’m just going to let it play out, talk to the fam, and after that see how it goes.”

At the camp did Coach Enos start working with you on tweaking anything at the camp? Did he work on any delivery mechanics or change any part of your footwork dropping back?

“Nothing really, not that I remember.”

That’s good. What was your 40-yard dash at the Arkansas camp?

“Honestly I have no clue. I was going to ask but I didn’t want to be that person at the camp. It felt good. I’m not the fastest person, but to me it felt good. I don’t know what it was. Somewhere under five and were good.”

I love the way you phrased that. Did you get tour the facilities or do anything else while on the Arkansas campus?

“Not really, I’ve seen them a lot over the last year. We went up the night before ate, went to the camp, and came straight home.”

Do you have any other unofficial visits or camps planned for the rest of your summer?

“No, as far as the summer I am done with everything camp wise. The Arkansas camp kind of wrapped it up.”

What other camps have you been to in the offseason other than the Arkansas camp?

“I went to Arkansas State, Tulsa, Memphis, ULM (Louisiana-Monroe), UCA (Central Arkansas).”

Of the six camps which camp was your best from a performance standpoint?

“My best camps were either Memphis or Arkansas, but I’ll say Arkansas.”

I know it has not been that long since we spoke last but has there been any new recruiting interest lately?

“Not really, I’ve talked to a ULM coach. He said we definitely need to talk but we can’t talk until Sept. 1 because of NCAA rules. He said we need to talk and that was pretty much it. Memphis is going to stay in touch. Arkansas State wants me to get back up on their campus for their camp but I’m not sure if I can make it.”

You said a few minutes ago that your focus now is back on being a Wampus Cat and helping your team win a state championship. What workouts will you start doing to prepare for the upcoming season going forward?

“Right now we are on a dead week. When we go back we’ll start working out and trying to get into football shape. I’ll do a lot of throwing with the receivers. Other than working out it’ll just me with the receivers and running backs throwing it around. We need to start developing that bond early. Over the past two years one thing I did not understand was developing that bond and how important it is. Now that is my biggest thing, developing that bond.”

How is everything else going for you? Do you have any rodeo competitions coming up? Have you won anymore belt buckles?

“No more buckles, but last weekend I had three rodeos. I won two got second in one. I’m taking this weekend off to enjoy time with family. Next week I have a 4th of July roping in my dad’s home town (Tatum, Texas). So we’ll be up there. I have some friends coming up here to meet me with the horses and everything. That’s how we will celebrate the 4th.”

As always, thanks for your time Breylin. Good luck with everything.

“Thank you.”

Photo credit: Conway Wampus Cats and Breylin Smith