The Recruiting Guy

Texas RB glad he listened to Traylor urging him to visit

Arkansas assistant coach Jeff Traylor speaks Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, with members of the media in the Fred W. Smith Football Center on the university campus in Fayetteville.

Highly regarded running back Darwin Barlow is happy Arkansas associate head coach and running backs coach Jeff Traylor convinced him to make an official visit to Fayetteville.

“It was a great experience,” said Barlow, who arrived on Thursday and left Saturday morning. “I’m glad Coach Traylor got me up here. I didn’t know if I’d be coming here for an official, but I’m glad he told me to come up here. It was totally worth it.”

Barlow, 5-11, 195 pounds, of Newton, Texas, has more than 20 scholarship offers from schools like Arkansas, LSU, Nebraska, Ole Miss, TCU, Baylor, Oklahoma State and Missouri.

The Hogs have made up a lot of ground with Barlow.

“They’re up there now,” Barlow said. “It’s a nice school, the coaches are great, and now I’m just going to take that back home and take them into consideration.”

Oklahoma State will receive an official visit from him next weekend. He rushed 205 times for 2,246 yards and 38 touchdowns for a 15-0 team that won the Class 3A Division II state championship.

Former Razorback cornerback DJ Dean, who attended Newton High School, has told Barlow he needed to visit.

“He’s been telling me to come up here for a while now,” Barlow said. “He said I would love it here. I finally got up here and he was right. I loved it.”

Junior running back Devwah Whaley, a Beaumont, Texas, native, hosted Barlow.

“He’s a great athlete,” Barlow said. “He comes from where we come from, real close. It was fun and good getting around him and getting to know him.”

Barlow said the highlight of the trip was hanging out with the players.

“How cool the players and coaches are,” he said. “Just everything about it was a highlight.”

He calls Traylor a “good dude”.

“He’s a great coach,” Barlow said. “He’s one of those guys that even if I didn’t choose to come here, he’d still be there for me. He cares about the person and it means a lot to have somebody like that.”

If he decides on Arkansas, Barlow knows coach Chad Morris and staff will have his back.

“I know I’d be taken care of very well here by Coach Morris, Coach Traylor and all of the coaching staff,” he said.

Barlow’s teammate and defensive back Josh Foster also officially visited the Hogs.

“He’s my cousin. There’s a good chance we could play together,” Barlow said.