Beyond the NFL, there is a slew of professional football leagues with former Razorbacks playing in them. There are four summer football leagues in which former Arkansas football players are either trying to get back onto an NFL roster or just finishing out their careers playing the game they love.
Seven former Razorbacks are playing in these leagues currently, each with an interesting road to where they are now.
Hatcher spent four seasons in Fayetteville and became the go-to wide receiver for Austin Allen in the 2016 season. He bounced around NFL practice squads, having small stints with the Oakland Raiders twice, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers twice, and the New York Jets.
For the last two years, he has played for the BC Lions in the CFL. Hatcher was second on the team in receiving yards with 1,043 on 70 catches and recorded five touchdown receptions in 2022.
Hatcher is currently on the six-game injured list but is expected to return for the Lions’ game against Saskatchewan in late July.
Kelley is one of two players on this list to play for the Razorbacks before later transferring to another school. He played two seasons at Arkansas before transferring to Southeastern Louisiana, where he won the Walter Payton Award, the FCS-version of the Heisman Trophy.
Kelley went undrafted but was signed by the Washington Commanders as an undrafted free agent. He was released about three months after being signed and began preparing for the USFL.
The “Louisiana Steamboat” is appropriately playing for the team in Memphis and has been the starter since Week 3. Kelley rallied the team after an 0-3 start and they had won five in a row until a 31-3 loss to the New Orleans Breakers a week ago.
Before making it to the pros, Alex Collins set school rushing records not seen since Darren McFadden and in 2015 he became the first Razorback since 1969 to score 20 rushing touchdowns in a season.
Collins was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in 2016 and he played one season with them before going to the Baltimore Ravens. After two seasons on the East Coast, he returned to Seattle but was cut from the practice squad during the 2020-21 season.
Collins has not played for the Showboats since April 29 and is not listed on the team’s Week 10 depth chart. This season, he has scored one touchdown and has rushed for 98 yards on 33 carries.
O’Grady has had a roller-coaster career dating back to his time at Arkansas. He played four seasons at Arkansas, recording his first touchdown reception in the 2016 Belk Bowl against Virginia Tech. In 2019, he tied Jeremy Sprinkle for the most touchdowns by a tight end but a few weeks later he left the team for undisclosed reasons.
He participated in a Cincinnati Bengals minicamp in 2021 but did not make the team. He spent 2022 playing in the USFL for the now-defunct Tampa Bay Bandits and he currently plays for Memphis. He has just two receiving yards on one catch so far this season and like Collins, is not listed on the Week 10 depth chart.
Wade might be most well known for his infamous hit on a Vanderbilt punt returner that ended in his ejection and later suspension in 2011 but he also played wide receiver at Arkansas. Most of his time on the field was for special teams, ranking seventh all-time in kickoff return average at Arkansas.
He has become a household name in the indoor football world, playing for five different teams in multiple leagues, spending time with the Cedar Rapids River Kings, Spokane Shock, Albany Empire, and two versions of the Jacksonville Sharks.
Nance started his career at Mississippi Gulf Coast before transferring to Arkansas in 2017. He played two seasons at Arkansas before transferring to Missouri for his final year of eligibility, when he led the team in receptions and receiving yards.
He currently plays for Tulsa’s newest indoor football team, the Oilers. Nance has played in five games, has recorded six touchdown receptions on the season and had a kick return for a touchdown in a game against the San Diego Strike Force.
Tutt started his college career at Ventura College in California before transferring to Arkansas, where he spent most of his time on special teams but also played some on defense.
He spent 2022 in the IFL with the Frisco Fighters before going to Tulsa. Tutt has played four games this season and had a kick return touchdown against the Iowa Barnstormers. In that same game, he also recorded an interception and returned it 21 yards.
**JOIN THE CONVERSATION WITH ARKANSAS FANS ON THE TROUGH, HAWGBEAT’S PREMIUM MESSAGE BOARD**
The Arkansas high school softball state championships are just about to get underway this week at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
Six championship games will take place over the course of three days between May 22-24, with 12 teams vying for a chance to hoist a state title. The Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) recently released the official gametimes for each state championship game and down below are each classification’s date/time.
Bentonville vs. Har-Ber, May 24th (Saturday), 4 p.m.
Benton vs. Sheridan, May 22nd (Thursday), 4 p.m.
Bauxite vs. Pea Ridge, May 23rd (Friday), 1 p.m.
Hardin Academy vs. Mayflower, May 23rd (Friday), 7 p.m.
Hackett vs. Riverside, May 24th (Saturday), 10 a.m.
Concord vs. Taylor, May 22nd (Thursday), 10 a.m.
Follow High School On SI throughout the 2025 high school softball season for Live Updates, the most up to date Schedules & Scores and complete coverage from the preseason through the state championships!
Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school softball news.
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— Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi
A motorist on Interstate 630 in Little Rock struck and killed a pedestrian Saturday morning after the man ran into traffic, according to a preliminary report from Arkansas State Police.
The pedestrian, who wasn’t identified in the report, crossed three lanes of traffic near the Chester Street exit around 10:02 a.m. and was attempting to cross the median wall when he darted back into one of the lanes and was struck by a westbound 2021 Nissan Sentra, the report states.
No other injuries were reported, and a trooper investigating the incident reported that the weather was clear and the road was dry at the time.
FAYETTEVILLE — The stage was not too bright for University of Arkansas softball pitcher Payton Burnham in her first NCAA Tournament start.
The freshman right-hander got the start in the Razorbacks’ first game of the Fayetteville Regional on Friday, and she made the most of it in a 10-0, five-inning victory over Saint Louis at Bogle Park.
Burnham pitched the 17th no-hitter in program history, and the first by a Razorback in the NCAA Tournament.
She became the third Arkansas pitcher to accomplish the feat this season, joining Robyn Herron (Feb. 16 vs. Louisiana-Monroe) and Reis Beuerlein (April 18 vs. Colorado State).
“I’m really proud of P for a no-hitter,” Arkansas coach Courtney Deifel said. “It’s really exciting as a freshman to come (into) your first postseason game in Bogle and just really trust your stuff and trust your defense.”
Arkansas advanced to play Oklahoma State (34-18) in winners bracket matchup scheduled for noon Saturday. The Cowgirls erased a four-run deficit to defeat Indiana 11-6 in Friday’s first game.
“When you get out here, no matter if it’s your first one or your 10th one, you have a little bit of nerves,” Deifel said. “There’s excitement, and for them to just stay really present and do what they do — it was great to see them so comfortable in that moment.”
Burnham (14-2) accomplished her no-hitter in 66 pitches, throwing 41 for strikes. She struck out 6 with 1 walk and 1 hit batter while inducing 6 groundouts and 3 fly outs.
It was Burnham’s second consecutive standout performance in front of a home crowd at Bogle Park, also getting a shutout May 3 in the regular-season finale against LSU.
Her performance Friday came in front of an announced crowd of 3,038.
“My defense behind me, they played perfect,” Burnham said. “It wouldn’t have happened without them, but I was just trusting my stuff through the zone, trusting in my defense and then our offense, just putting the pressure on and keeping the pressure on.”
The Razorbacks gave their pitcher immediate run support when they batted through the lineup in a five-run bottom of the first.
Reagan Johnson led off with a single down the third-base line, then stole second base on the second pitch of Bri Ellis’ at-bat. Ellis and Courtney Day both walked in four pitches to load the bases with one out for Kailey Wyckoff, who delivered with an RBI single to right field
It was the onset of a big game for the Texas Tech transfer.
In her first NCAA Tournament game, the junior was 3 for 3 with a career-high 5 RBI. The lefty hitter had a pair of singles and a double.
“Being in postseason for the first time, I kind of got a little bit in my feels,” Wyckoff said. “I kind of had to set that aside, because it’s not about me. But going into it, I just knew that I had to stick to my plan and it just kind of worked out for me.”
It was the second consecutive game for Wyckoff to record three hits, tying her season-high.
“She’s just been on fire lately,” Deifel said. “She is an elite hitter.”
Ella McDowell walked with the bases loaded to tack on another run before Kennedy Miller kept the big inning going with a two-run single up the middle. Atalyia Rijo drew a walk to load the bases for nine-hole hitter Karlie Davison, who singled to left field to stretch the lead to 5-0.
It began a rough outing for Saint Louis starting pitcher Taylor Hochman, who gave up 10 runs in her 3 1/3-inning start. Hochman (16-8) allowed 7 hits and 7 walks against the 25 batters she faced.
“Kudos to Arkansas,” Saint Louis Coach Christy Connoyer said. “They can swing the bat … very disciplined team. Courtney, she runs a really nice program. S, hats off to Arkansas for their discipline and their plate approach.”
Wyckoff extended the lead to 6-0 in the bottom of the second with a sharply hit RBI single up the middle to score Raigan Kramer, who led off the inning with a single.
After a scoreless third, the Razorbacks poured it on again in the fourth.
Wyckoff delivered the game’s only multi-base hit with a bases-clearing double to left-center field. It scored Kramer, Ellis and Day, who reached due to walks and an error. Rijo set the game’s final score with an RBI single up the middle.
“I think we were all just seeing the ball really well today,” Wyckoff said.
Burnham enacted a run rule in the fifth inning, ending the game with a strikeout of Allie Marietta. She was the third Billiken who struck out looking, as Burnham mixed her speeds and kept them guessing.
“She moved the ball well,” Saint Louis catcher Abby Mallo said. “She changed speeds, changed planes. We saw a lot of rise balls and a lot of changeups. It kept batters off balance.”
Burnham, whose family is moving to Arkansas, said her mother Kendall was in the stands to watch her big performance. The former Kendall Richards was a star at Texas A&M, where she set the program’s single-season batting average record of .454 in 1996.
“You could tell right away (Burnham) has some intangibles that you just can’t coach,” said Deifel, recalling recruiting the pitcher. “She wants the ball. She’s fearless. She’s competitive.”
Left-hander Isabel Royle pitched the final two outs for the Billikens and gave up one hit.
Arkansas won a home regional opener in run-rule fashion for the fourth time in five years. Each of those have been shutouts.
“I’m just really proud of the team with the way they came out in our first game here,” Deifel said “I thought that P and our defense set a really good tone in the first inning. Our offense carried that momentum, and I thought they just did an incredible job of taking what they gave us and then also being ready when the ball showed up. I just thought it was a complete effort.”
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