North Little Rock 2016 WR Tobias Enlow Talks Arkansas Visit and gives Recruiting Update

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

Tobias Enlow’s story holds true for many recruits in a given year, sadly, year after year. The drawback to any sport is injury, and injury robbed Enlow of what should have been an amazing senior year on the Arkansas high school gridiron.

Simply put, Enlow has it all. At 6’2, 188 pounds, the North Little Rock High School talent has size, strength, and, most importantly, speed – clocked at a 4.41 in the 40-yard dash. The strength is there for his position with a bench max around 255 and a pre-injury squat max at 365 pounds. He also has hands. Playing alongside 4-star wide receiver K.J. Hill (Ohio State) in 2014, Enlow pulled in 16 passes for 185 yards with two touchdowns. What the stats do not tell, he only dropped one pass all year.

Jump to 2015, a year when 10-20 Division-I offers could have been brought in given Enlow’s measurables and potential. Amazingly enough, he still has eight offers on the table despite missing his entire senior year due to a knee injury with Southeastern Missouri State, Missouri State, Ouachita Baptist, Henderson State, Arkansas Tech, Louisiana-Monroe, and UCA (Central Arkansas) all willing to roll the dice that he will return to form allowing these schools to steal a top talent away from timid top D-I programs.

Another offer has come in that might be too tempting for Enlow to pass up, a preferred walk-on offer from Arkansas. Enlow is visiting the Razorbacks on Jan. 16 to get an idea if the Arkansas program is for him and his college needs. The tempting bait is the ability to earn a scholarship once on campus, but there are no guarantees, while playing for the home state team that happens to be in the best college football conference in the nation, the SEC.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview, I sat down with Tobias ahead of his visit to Fayetteville to get an idea of what he is looking to achieve with his visit to the Hogs over the weekend. We also talked about his other upcoming visits getting a full recruiting news update.

Interview

Tobias, the thing everyone wants to know about is how your knee is doing. With that in mind, how is your knee rehab going right now?

“Right now, I’m around, 85 percent. I’m ready to come back and be cleared. I’m supposed to be cleared in February or in mid-February. I’m working out every day and doing physical therapy every day.”

What all can you do with knee right now? What drills and movements are you able to do?

“I can run straight and jump, and do some agility drills but not go full out-100 percent in sprints.”

National Signing Day is approaching and schools are scrambling to fill spots across the nation. Which schools are recruiting you right now trying to get you to sign a letter of intent with them?

“I’d have to say UCA and SEMO are recruiting me really hard and Arkansas Tech. Those are the three I hear from the most.”

In general, what is the pitch you are hearing from the different schools trying to land you?

“The coaches – like SEMO, they come by the house to talk to me and my family. They are friendly building that family atmosphere connection. They want me to feel comfortable if I go there. Every coach has a different way of recruiting. It’s hard to explain.”

You have an unofficial to Arkansas this weekend. What is the end goal for you with this visit? What are you looking to find out that you may not already know about the program?

“I’m hoping to see how the Razorbacks’ program is structured behind the scenes, with school and football. I want to see how the players work behind the scenes with school and football.”

What is the pivot point for Arkansas to sell you with a preferred walk-on offer over a four-year college that has an offer on the table right now?

“The big difference for me, I just want to know how they treat people that walk onto the program. Will I be treated differently. I know everything else is going to be good. I talk to some of the players on the team from time to time, they tell me everyone is treated the same.”

What other visits are coming up for you?

“I have Arkansas on Jan. 16, UCA on Jan. 22, and SEMO on Jan. 20.”

When you take your UCA visit, what are you looking forward from that visit?

“What I’m looking forward to at UCA, I never really got to see the whole campus. I’ve seen their athletic facilities but not the whole campus. I want to see how they run their program and their offense. I want to see how I would I fit in with the offense and with the team.”

What about your trip to SEMO? What are you looking forward to with that visit?

“From that visit, I never really got to see their campus either. The coaches tell me it’s beautiful there. In the city (Cape Girardeau, MO), fans there are really supportive. I want to see how they run their program and see the type of fan support they receive.”

Do you have a timeline on when you would like to make your decision on where you will play your college ball?

“Yes sir. I’ve thought about it a lot. I’m thinking about making my decision a couple of days after my visit to SEMO.”

Have you made a decision on how you will do your announcement?

“I haven’t yet. I have talked to my parents about it but I don’t know yet. It’s still in the works.”

Tobias, good luck with all of your upcoming visits and on your big upcoming decision.

“Thank you.”

Photo credit: Enlow family; Tobias doing rehab work on his knee.

Photo credit: Enlow family; Tobias with Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema.