State of the Program: ‘No quick fix’ for Arkansas, but Razorbacks have the blueprint

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Late in the first half of Arkansas’ April 6 spring game, quarterback Ben Hicks found freshman receiver Trey Knox over the middle of the field. Knox snatched the ball out of the air, turned upfield and headed toward paydirt, juking safety Kamren Curl on the way there.

The electric 45-yard touchdown was one of the highlights of the spring game — and a sign of hope.

“He’s definitely a difference-maker,” coach Chad Morris said afterward. “But, again, we’ve seen that. That’s been consistent all spring. And that’s what’s probably been impressive about Trey. A lot of times, freshmen get in there and they hit a wall. And Trey has really worked hard to get through that.”

Wait, there’s more. Another freshman receiver, Shamar Nash, hauled in a 48-yard reception during the game. Junior college transfer Myron Cunningham started the contest at left tackle. Freshman cornerback Devin Bush intercepted a pass and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown. Freshmen defensive linemen Eric Gregory and Mataio Soli combined for three sacks and four tackles for loss.

All that is a sign that Morris and his staff are beginning to improve the overall talent level at Arkansas, which had just 16 four- or five-star prospects on the roster last season — Morris’ first with the Hogs. In 2019, Arkansas signed 11 such prospects.

Twelve newcomers enrolled early and went through spring ball. Knox, a four-star prospect from Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Blackman, is showing the kind of difference-making talent that led offensive coordinator Joe Craddock to wonder if Arkansas had any chance of signing him.

“Trey Knox, when we got him on campus, I didn’t think we’d ever see him again, honestly,” Craddock told The Athletic earlier this year. “I told the staff, ‘I think he liked it here, but I don’t know if we’ll see him.’ (Receivers coach Justin) Stepp just kept on developing a relationship with him.”

Craddock had a similar feeling about Nash, a four-star prospect who is from Memphis but played his senior season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

“We loved his film, found out he went to IMG and we were like, ‘Well, we may not see him again, either,’ ” Craddock admitted. “To sign those two kids mid-year was huge for us.”

It should get even better once the rest of Arkansas’ class arrives this summer. Four-star receivers Treylon Burks and T.Q. Jackson will join Knox and Nash. Then there is four-star prospect Hudson Henry, one of the top tight end recruits in the country; he is from Little Rock and an Arkansas legacy. His dad, Mark, played for the Razorbacks from 1988-91. One of his brothers — Hunter — was an All-American at tight end for the Hogs and now is playing for the Los Angeles Chargers. Another brother, Hayden, is an Arkansas linebacker.

Craddock conceded that “it would’ve been really bad” if Arkansas wasn’t able to land Hudson Henry. It was so important, he said, that coaches purposefully worked extra tight end stuff into the offense early last season to show Hudson that he would be used extensively. When Morris and Craddock were at SMU, there was “a misconception” that they didn’t use tight ends, Craddock said.

“(Predecessor) June (Jones) didn’t have any tight ends on the roster when we got there, so we had to make some tight ends,” Craddock said. “Well, when you ‘make’ a tight end, you don’t want to feature that guy.”

Morris used tight ends extensively when he was the offensive coordinator at Clemson, so it became vital to show Henry that his talent wouldn’t go to waste if he became a Razorback. Craddock said when a tight end would catch a touchdown pass in practice last season, he would send a video of it via Snapchat to Henry.

“I’m serious,” he said. “It was a big deal. We had to really go back and show him, when our offense is what we want it to be, it’s a heavily involved tight end offense.”

And that was the biggest problem: Arkansas’ offense in the first season of the Morris Era was nowhere near what he wants it to look like. The results reflected that, with the Razorbacks finishing a dismal 2-10 overall and 0-8 in the SEC. It was arguably the worst season in Arkansas football history.

It won’t be easy to climb out of that rut against an SEC West schedule. But Arkansas’ freshman class is a sign that Morris and his staff are working hard at righting the ship.

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