Dallas QB awed by atmosphere

Sophomore quarterback Sawyer Anderson, who has the makings of being one of the top quarterbacks in the nation for the 2025 class, came away impressed with the University of Arkansas after attending last Saturday’s Prospect Day.

“The coaches were real passionate about their players and the program,” said Anderson of Coach Sam Pittman and offensive coordinator Dan Enos. “That’s what stuck out to me the most. Just them speaking what the program has to offer really put into perspective on how much they care for their players.”

Anderson, 6-0, 175 pounds, of Dallas Parish Episcopal School has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Wisconsin, Colorado, Texas Tech, Arizona State, Missouri. North Carolina State, North Carolina, Ole Miss, TCU, Oklahoma State and others.

He’s impressed with Enos’ resume and ability to develop quarterbacks.

“He has a great track record with quarterbacks coming from Alabama, Maryland and previously Arkansas, so his philosophy on quarterbacks is legit,” Anderson said.

Arkansas’ facilities often highlight visits for recruits and Anderson was no different.

“The facilities were incredible, the academic part of it as well,” said Anderson, who will likely make a return visit to Arkansas. “The stadium was incredible.”

His motivation to visit Arkansas was helped by his teammate and Razorbacks sophomore linebacker target Parker Messe, who made his third visit to Fayetteville the day prior to Anderson visiting.

“He said it was about one of his top schools, so I was like I’m going to have to check it out,” Anderson said. “I was impressed. It really caught my eye.”

He’s also made trips to Texas, TCU, Ole Miss, North Carolina and North Carolina State.

Anderson led the Panthers to back-to-back Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools 11-man Division I State titles as a freshman and sophomore.

He completed 208 of 320 passes for 3,120 yards, 37 touchdowns while having only 7 interceptions. He also rushed 28 times for 168 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Anderson is also an outstanding baseball player. He started for the varsity team as a freshman and made all-district as a center fielder. He reportedly ran 11.1 seconds in the 100 meters as an eighth grader.

His athleticism shouldn’t be a surprise, it’s in his genes. His father Blake was an All-SEC catcher at Mississippi State in 1996 and was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 23rd round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft that same year.

His grandfather Donny Anderson was a running back for Texas Tech and was All-Southwest Conference in 1963-65 and an All-American in 1964-65 before playing six seasons for the Green Bay Packers. He helped the Packers to two Super Bowl victories in 1966-67 under Hall of Fame Coach Vince Lombardi.

The elder Anderson will receive the 2022 Doak Walker Legends Award on Feb. 17. Sawyer said his father and grandfather offer him advice.

“Always remain humble and put in work everyday and try and reach your goal and go above and beyond and be a leader,” he said.

The younger Anderson admits topping his grandfather’s accomplishments will be tough.

“It’s going to be hard to one-up him with him winning two Super Bowls,” Anderson said.

Anderson said the trip to Fayetteville helped put the Hogs in a good spot with him.

“Visiting definitely put it on my short list of schools because of the passion for their players and that’s a big deal for me and graduating was real harped on there,” said Anderson, who has a 3.8 grade-point average.

White to decide today

ESPN 4-star prospect and Little Rock Christian quarterback Walker White will choose from Auburn, Clemson and Baylor at 2 p.m. today.

White, who’s ESPN’s No. 6 dual-threat signal-caller for the 2024 class, held an offer from Arkansas.