When Enoch Watson visited BYU’s spring practice two months ago, the man he was paired shoulder to shoulder with was Ryder Burton. The two went through position meetings together and Watson, a high school recruit out of Arizona, followed him throughout drills.
The pairing of BYU’s upstart, freshman quarterback and the under-recruited signal caller was fitting. Both share a nearly identical recruiting story.
Burton and Enoch both came from high school offenses that were run heavy. Both had to force their way onto coaches’ radars by going to camps. Both shared the feeling they could hang with the top recruits in the country, even if they were left off national radars.
“We definitely have the same situation,” Watson said. “All through spring I was just on his hip.”
And after spring camp, Watson followed Burton in one more key way: with an offer to come to BYU. Cougars offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick made the trip to Arizona and then offered him on the phone a few weeks later.
In Watson, a 2024 quarterback recruit, it is hard not to see at least some of Burton. Watson’s only offer at this point is from BYU. His main calling card as a prospect is his arm talent. And, personally, he believes the recruiting rankings that mark him as no-star quarterback are mostly irrelevant.
“I see other top quarterbacks ranked in the nation [at camps] and I see where I stand. I’m not far off from them,” Watson said. “I’m right there with them. It is just me kind of realizing I’m under-recruited. Time will tell when we are playing.
“I think nowadays the stars and recruiting is kind of just a game. It is who is just putting themselves out there more. Who is getting the most hype. It is not who can play the best. I kind of just let myself show coaches what I can do. And if they like me they like me,” Watson said.
Watson recently transferred to the American Leadership Academy coached by BYU quarterbacks Ty Detmer and Max Hall. But before that, Watson was at Coconino High School. The program ran a Wing-T that barely featured Watson’s arm. By Watson’s estimation, it made it tough for coaches to evaluate film.
So to get around it, Watson showed up to BYU camps as a freshman in high school.
“Ryder also kind of played in a weirder offense. A run-first offense,” Watson said. “At my old school, I was in a heavy run offense until I moved. We have the same situation because coaches could see our arm talent at camps. But then it was just the film that the coaches were backed up on.”
Roderick explained the vision of the offense and how Watson would fit in. It left an early impression heading into his final summer before college.
“I like the flow of BYU. It is not just one thing,” Watson said. “They are QB factory school. It is fun. You are the guy and you are who they are building the offense around..”
For now, Watson is in no rush to decide where he is heading. He will attend several more camps this summer. He did note that his brother, Pierson Watson, signed with BYU this winter. Both his uncles played for the Cougars as well.
Still, this will be his decision.
“I’m playing it out,” he said.
But for now, BYU remains top of mind.
