Arkansas offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Dan Enos reached out to junior quarterback Skylar Thompson about two weeks ago, and now the signal caller plans to visit the Hogs during the spring.
"He had my dad's email and he messaged him and said he wanted me to give him a call," said Thompson, who plays for Independence (Mo.) Fort Osage High School.
Thompson, 6-2, 192 pounds, 4.6 seconds in the 40-yard dash, stood out among several quarterbacks at an Arkansas Elite camp in June of last year and earned praise from former Arkansas offensive coordinator Jim Chaney.
"He said he looked at my film and really, really liked it," Thompson said of Enos. "He said he liked my arm strength, my footwork, athletic ability and my speed. He wanted to get me down on campus."
Thompson completed 106 of 186 passes for 1,451 yards and 19 touchdowns and rushed for 705 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore. Thompson led the Indians to a 11-1 record while completing 158 of 244 passes for 2,385 yards and 24 touchdowns with 6 interceptions.
Thompson plans to visit Fayetteville in early April.
"He said he wanted to sit down with me and my family in the conference room," said Thompson, who rushed for 421 yards this past season. "I guess on April 4 or 5, one of those days, they'll have a scrimmage and he wants me come watch that and they're going to watch film with me of that scrimmage and kind of explain what they're doing and how they're going to do stuff."
Quarterback coach Skip Stitzell runs QB Edge in Fayette, Mo., tutors Thompson and has worked with Arkansas freshman quarterback Rafe Peavey.
Stitzell started working with quarterbacks in 1993 before starting QB Edge in 2000. Approximately 20 former students have gone on to play on the Division I level and two have played in the NFL.
"He could be one of the best overall kids that I've ever worked with," Stitzell said. "He's has just an incredible work ethic. When we throw, he's one of those guys that won't leave on a bad throw. He's constantly challenging himself."
Thompson's athletic ability stands out along with his focus on fundamentals.
"His mechanics, starting with his footwork, is exceptional," Stitzell said. "He's very accurate. Those two things go hand-and-hand and are two things he spends a lot of time on."
Thompson, who is awaiting his first scholarship offer, visited Missouri last weekend and plans to visit Kansas this weekend. He'll then take trips to Kansas State and Iowa State.
"Then I'm supposed to schedule a visit to go out to Wake Forest," Thompson said. "We kind of had an agreement with their quarterback coach that we're probably not going to go out there unless we get an offer there or an offer prior to that, but I think Wake Forest is close to pulling the trigger on that."
Despite visiting Arkansas only once, Thompson likes what he has seen of the Razorbacks program under Coach Bret Bielema and has strong interest in the Hogs.
"I really like Fayetteville," Thompson said. "You could tell this year they lost some really tough games they should've won and Coach Bielema is doing a great job. They're turning that thing around, and they're really fun to watch. They play good offense and really good defense."
Thompson is friends with Peavey, and the two have discussed Arkansas.
"We get along really well and he has nothing but good things to say about that place," Thompson said. "I think really highly of it."
NO NEED TO RUSH
Trying to stay ahead of the competition, rivals.com listed two sixth-graders in its data base.
Daron Bryden of Enfield, Conn., is listed as a pro style quarterback at 5-2, 105 pounds, and running back Tyson Thornton of Springfield, Mass., is listed at 5-11, 167. The two middle school students are labeled as 2021 prospects.
Evidently Rivals has teamed up with NextGen All-America Camp to help identify prospects in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades who attend their camps.
Unfortunately, there are some misguided but well-meaning parents who are willing to pay $99 for their children to take part in the camps in hopes of giving them an edge over others in their age groups.
NextGen and others conducting similar camps will always be happy to pad their pockets, but here is a bit of advice to the parents.
Stay away and let your kids be kids.
E-mail Richard Davenport at
rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Sports on 02/20/2015