Arkansas

Arkansas football receivers step up with top players out | Whole Hog Sports

Published

4 months ago

August 8, 2024

Arkansas football receivers step up with top players out | Whole Hog Sports

FAYETTEVILLE — Down two of its headliners, Arkansas wide receivers had an opportunity to step up during a scrimmage Thursday.

Andrew Armstrong (hamstring) and Tyrone Broden (turf toe), who figure to play a major role this season, did not participate in the scrimmage due to minor injuries.

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman seemed unworried about the injuries his team is dealing with during a post-scrimmage news conference. He said none appear to be long-term issues and were largely precautionary.

A byproduct of Armstrong and Broden missing the nearly 150-snap scrimmage was increased reps for others in the largely unproven receiver room.

Pittman pointed to potential positives of holding players out.

“I’m not worried about any of [the injured] guys,” Pittman said, later adding, “You don’t want to put a guy in that’s a two that you’re looking at the first time against the ones in a live situation. We looked at it as much as we could as a positive and I felt like we came out of the scrimmage that way.”

Perhaps no player capitalized on the situation more than redshirt sophomore Isaiah Sategna, who has emerged as the likely slot receiver starting along Armstrong and Broden.

Sategna racked up 110 yards on two plays early in the scrimmage — a first-play, 45-yard post route before a 65-yard touchdown strike down the right sideline. He later caught a 20-yard pass.

The connection between Sategna and starting quarterback Taylen Green has appeared strong in fall practices. It may have taken some time to get that way.

“It’s always hard at first whenever I have a new quarterback just for him to get my speed right and stuff,” said Sategna, who was the nation’s No. 4 track and field prospect for the class of 2022. “Taylen has a really big arm, so it wasn’t a problem for him.”

Offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino has long held a “feed the studs” coaching ideology. Sategna seems to have worked his name into that category.

But who’s behind Armstrong, Broden and Sategna has been a bit more mysterious leading up to the season. The receiver room has a batch of other players who could work their way into meaningful time on the field this fall.

Isaac TeSlaa started all 12 games a year ago and is being asked to play in the slot this season, receivers coach Ronnie Fouch said earlier this week. Jaedon Wilson has worked with the first team some in the preseason, along with freshman CJ Brown.

The minor injuries to Armstrong and Broden have allowed that group to get additional live reps with Green, something that could benefit long-term chemistry.

“In practice we do a great job of getting chemistry with everybody,” Green said. “I’m not going to sit here and say it’s not different [without Armstrong and Broden]. Of course there’s a difference, but our coaching staff does a great job of everybody getting reps.”

Two more wideouts may have gained some trust Thursday.

Pittman noted sophomore Davion Dozier had a strong showing, along with Monte Harrison, the former MLB player who on Saturday will turn 29.

Dozier had touchdown receptions of 35 and 12 yards on passes from back-up quarterback Malachi Singleton.

“Dozier, he made some big catches,” Green said. “What’s really stuck out has been his receiving after the catch and just knowing what to do with the ball and his opportunities.”

Later in the scrimmage Singleton found Harrison for a 55-yard touchdown on a busted play.

“Monte Harrison caught some balls today and turned up and ran pretty well with it,” Pittman said. “He’s going to help us. He’s a good kid, good young man.”

While seeing two playmakers sidelined is never a welcomed sight, it provided a chance for Green to gain confidence in additional receivers.

“With [Armstrong] and [Broden] out, our receivers did a great job of stepping up with the opportunities they had,” Green said. “That was pretty cool to see.”

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Arkansas

Arkansas' official depth chart for Missouri game

Published

4 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Press Room

Arkansas' official depth chart for Missouri game

FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Razorbacks (6-4, 3-4 SEC) have released the depth chart for Saturday’s regular season finale against the No. 24 Missouri Tigers (8-3, 4-3 SEC) at Razorback Stadium.

Arkansas recovered from a slow start to take down Louisiana Tech, 35-14, over the weekend in Fayetteville. Missouri bounced back from a loss to South Carolina on Sept. 16 with a 39-20 win at Mississippi State on Saturday.

A few changes were made to this week’s depth chart, most notably the absence of junior defensive end Nico Davillier at the defensive end position. The pass-rusher did not play against Louisiana Tech on Saturday due to a knee injury, and senior Anton Juncaj is the lone listed starter in Davillier’s place. Backing up Juncaj is freshman Charlie Collins.

At safety, sophomore TJ Metcalf and junior Miguel Mitchell no longer have an “or” listed between them. Metcalf is the starter with Mitchell backing him up. Finally, redshirt sophomore Brooks Edmonson is listed as the backup center behind Addison Nichols instead of redshirt sophomore Amaury Wiggins, who is no longer listed on the depth chart.

Here is the full Arkansas depth chart ahead of Saturday’s game against Missouri, which is set to kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network at Memorial Stadium.

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Arkansas

Higginbottom key in win vs. old team | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Published

13 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Press Room

Higginbottom key in win vs. old team | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

FAYETTEVILLE — Izzy Higginbottom sent a text message to her teammates on the University of Arkansas women’s basketball team Saturday night.

The note contained a list of things she felt the team needed to work on from its 94-71 loss Thursday night to Oral Roberts. First on the list was better energy.

Her message resonated.

Higginbottom played with passion and excelled against her former team as Arkansas found its defense in the second half to defeat Arkansas State 76-60 on Sunday afternoon at Walton Arena.

“I personally knew how much this game meant to her,” Arkansas forward Jenna Lawrence said of Higginbottom. “Obviously, you want to beat the team that you’ve recently been on, so I just think she was really amped up — the most amped I’ve seen her for a game.

“I’m just really proud of how she performed and how she was a leader on and off the court.”

Higginbottom, a 5-7 transfer guard who played two seasons with the Red Wolves, filled the stat sheet with 15 points, a career-high 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

“When the other team shoots threes, they become speed rebounds,” Arkansas Coach Mike Neighbors said. “I thought she dug a bunch of those out, and then that got us going on transition, too. She was out in front of the break leading it, getting to the foul line and created a couple of good catch and shoot looks for (teammates).”

The Razorbacks (4-3) snapped a two-game losing streak and won their second game against an in-state opponent this year. Arkansas won 71-60 in overtime at Arkansas-Little Rock on Nov. 11.

“It stinks to lose any day,” Neighbors said, “but especially if you get on a little bit of a streak, it’s easy to get (down). So, I thought it was important for us to stay above .500. You feel different when you win. I don’t know if we played any better yet. I’ll have to go home and watch, but I think we did.”

After giving up 38 points before halftime, the Razorbacks held the Red Wolves to 22 points on 8-of-36 (22%) shooting in the second half.

Arkansas State (2-3) went seven-plus minutes without a field goal between the third and fourth quarters. That stretch proved decisive as a 38-35 halftime deficit for Arkansas turned into a double-digit lead for most of the final quarter.

“We started getting all the 50-50 balls,” Neighbors said. “Before that, it was about (half). I think it was like 90-10 in that third quarter. The effort was much better. I thought our focus was a lot better.”

Arkansas State entered on a two-game win streak, which included a 100-96 victory at Arizona State. The Red Wolves fell to 3-9 all-time against the Razorbacks, last winning in the 2005 Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

A fast-paced, back-and-forth first quarter saw two lead changes and runs of 6-0 and 5-0 that helped Arkansas State take a 23-19 lead into the second quarter. The Razorbacks committed six turnovers in the period that resulted in 10 points for the Red Wolves.

Arkansas took a 33-27 with 3:32 remaining in the first half before Arkansas State closed with an 11-2 run. Kennedie Montue beat the shot clock with a three-pointer to give Arkansas State a 38-35 lead just before halftime.

Fatigue appeared to play a factor in the first half, in which Arkansas was outscored 26-2 in bench points. Arkansas State Coach Destinee Rogers made mass substitutions throughout the game and had 10 players log minutes.

Arkansas forward Vera Ojenuwa, who put up a double-double with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds, scored 12 points before halftime.

The Razorbacks took a 39-38 lead early in the third quarter on a jumper by Kiki Smith, who finished with 15 points. The teams went back and forth for a while before Lawrence connected on her first three-pointer of the game to put Arkansas up for good at 46-43 with 4:01 remaining in the third. Lawrence finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.

Arkansas State ran a full-court press for most of the game and Arkansas fared better against it as time went on. The Razorbacks found Ojenuwa alone under the basket on multiple press breaks.

“For two days straight, we worked on just breaking their press and making sure we see Vera wide open,” Lawrence said. “Because the way their press was, they put all of their players in front and left Vera wide open in the back.”

As the Razorbacks built their double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, Higginbottom drove past defenders for three fast-break layups.

Arkansas finished the game on a 12-4 run, including six unanswered, to close the door.

The Razorbacks shot 30 of 67 (45%), including 7 of 27 (26%) from three-point range, and 9 of 12 (75%) from the free-throw line.

Arkansas State went 23 of 74 (31%), 9 of 35 (26%) and 5 of 7 (71%) in those categories, respectively.

Anna Griffin led the Red Wolves with 16 points and 8 rebounds, followed by Montue, who made 3 three-pointers and scored 13 points. Both Griffin and Montue played off the bench, while Wynter Rogers was Arkansas State’s highest-scoring starter with 8 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Arkansas State’s starters outside of Rogers — Crislyn Rose, Zyion Shannon, Kyanna Morgan and Shaunae Brown — combined to go 4 of 36 from the field and scored eight points. Bella Weary and Mimi McCollister provided 7 and 6 points, respectively, off the bench for the Red Wolves.

Arkansas won the rebound battle 48-42 and had a season-high 16 assists.

Six Razorbacks scored at least eight points: Ojenuwa (20), Higginbottom (15), Smith (15), Lawrence (8), Carly Keats (8) and Danika Galea (8). Karley Johnson and Lawrence led the Razorbacks with three steals apiece.

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Arkansas

Hogs Add Another Major Playmaker to Talented 2026 Class

Published

21 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Hogs Add Another Major Playmaker to Talented 2026 Class

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Razorbacks received good news on the recruiting front with the addition of four-star wide receiver Dequane Prevo, he announced Sunday night on Instagram.

The 5-foot-10, 160 pound speedster committed to Arkansas over offers from Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Penn State, Texas, Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, Oregon and many others. Prevo is the No. 292 ranked prospect in the class of 2026, No. 47 receiver and No. 40 player in the state of Texas.

He ran a 22-second 200-meter dash as a freshman at the football factory known as Liberty-Euylau in Texarkana, Texas. Prevo has shown to be a playmaker at wideout catching 62 passes for 1,355 yards and 20 touchdown receptions.

Arkansas’ current 2026 class is off to an exceptional start ranked in the top ten nationally with four 4-star prospects headlined by Durant, Oklahoma defensive end Colton Yarbrough. 4-star passer Jayvon Gilmore, 4-star safety Adam Auston and 4-star safety and two-time MaxPreps all-American Tay Lockett are also notable commitments for the cycle.

With the addition of Prevo, Arkansas’ 2026 class keeps the Razorbacks firmly in the top 10 of 247sports composite recruiting rankings for next year’s cycle. The Hogs’ 2023 class soared as high as No. 3 early on during the 2023 class but after a few evaluation periods its class ended up a respectable No. 22 including a No. 11 ranked transfer portal haul.