Arkansas
How Trey Knox ‘stuffing his face’ could get Arkansas football back to tight end glory days
FAYETTEVILLE — As Trey Knox got here off the sector after his second landing of the day in opposition to Cincinnati, Arkansas soccer coach Sam Pittman had a query for him: Was the senior glad he’d made the change from extensive receiver to tight finish?
“I advised him, ‘Heck sure,’ ” Knox mentioned after the sport. “I won’t have mentioned ‘heck.’ “
Knox moved from wideout to tight finish in Arkansas’ second sport of the 2021 season. One yr and about 30 kilos of weight achieve later, Knox is the beginning tight finish. He led the No. 17 Razorbacks (1-0) with 75 receiving yards and two touchdowns on six catches within the 31-24 win over the Bearcats. In opposition to South Carolina (1-0) on Saturday (11 a.m. CT, ESPN), he’ll look to match his spectacular begin.
Arkansas has a current historical past of outstanding receiving tight ends, however in the previous couple of seasons, extremely touted prospects on the place have not panned out as anticipated. The Razorbacks hope Knox can restore the tight finish glory days of the early to mid-2010s and have a shot at an NFL profession.
NATIONAL RANKINGS:The place Arkansas soccer ranks in newest polls after win over Cincinnati
MORE:Arkansas soccer’s secondary wants enchancment with Spencer Rattler, South Carolina subsequent
Latest excellence at tight finish
The 2008 season kicked off virtually a decade of constant success for Arkansas tight ends. D.J. Williams was a sophomore and posted 723 receiving yards, which stays essentially the most in a single season by a decent finish in program historical past.
After two extra sturdy seasons, Williams was chosen within the fifth spherical within the 2011 NFL Draft. Not lacking a beat, receiver-turned-tight finish Chris Gragg completed with 518 yards and two scores as a junior in 2012. He was chosen within the 2013 draft. A Razorback tight finish was then chosen within the draft every year from 2015-17: first AJ Derby, then Hunter Henry, and eventually Jeremy Sprinkle.
Arkansas anticipated that success to proceed after Sprinkle with some extremely anticipated tight finish prospects in subsequent recruiting courses. However after these did not go in addition to the Razorbacks hoped, Pittman turned to his extensive receiver room and located Knox.
‘The perfect factor that occurred for Trey’
Dwayne Beasley suspected Knox would possibly transfer to tight finish. As proprietor of Beasley Elite Sports activities Coaching, Beasley has labored with athletes reminiscent of Main League Baseball pitcher Sonny Grey and others from the Murfreesboro space. He had labored with Knox since center faculty. Beasley noticed in Knox a contented child with good grades and the potential to be nice.
When Knox got here dwelling for spring break after his freshman season at Arkansas, Beasley noticed a younger man who had bodily reworked. The collegiate conditioning and diet packages had made Knox greater and stronger.
“I used to be identical to, ‘Dude, you achieve all this weight, you might find yourself being a decent finish,’ ” Beasley mentioned. “Trey was like, ‘I am not going to be a decent finish.’ “
The extra Beasley considered it, the extra sense it made. Knox had all the time been “a hell of a blocker,” and athletic, pass-catching tight ends have been in style within the NFL.
Knox was moved to tight finish after the Razorbacks’ first sport in opposition to Rice final season. He performed behind starter Blake Kern and had 141 receiving yards with 20 receptions and a TD in 12 video games.
Making the place change in the course of the season was a problem. Knox had all the time been massive as a receiver, however at 6-foot-5 and 215 kilos, he was slight for a decent finish. Now, in his senior season, Knox has had months of labor with tight ends coach Dowell Loggains. He is bulked as much as 245 kilos by packing on muscle the load room and meals within the kitchen. Knox mentioned he was “stuffing his face,” ingesting chocolate milk earlier than mattress and consuming loads of steak and potatoes.
However shifting from receiver to tight finish is about greater than weight. Knox has needed to adapt his footwork and discover ways to block a lot greater defensive ends and linebackers.
“It is a mindset, and that is the place the psychological toughness is available in,” Loggains mentioned in August. “Not everyone could make this transition, however Trey is a mentally powerful child.”
Knox thought-about transferring after that freshman season. The Razorbacks have been going by way of a training change, and Beasley noticed Knox was annoyed. However after he spoke with Pittman, he determined to remain. Now, he could possibly be the tight finish Arkansas has been looking for for years. And with two four-star tight ends main Arkansas’ 2023 recruiting class, Knox could possibly be the primary in a brand new line of Razorback greats on the place.
“He talked to Pittman, and he advised (Knox) what he had in retailer for him,” Beasley mentioned. “He embraced that, and also you see now he is first in Pittman’s offense. I feel Pittman coming in was the perfect factor that occurred for Trey.”
Christina Lengthy covers the Arkansas Razorbacks for the Southwest Instances Report and USA At the moment Community. You’ll be able to comply with her on Twitter @christinalong00 or electronic mail her at clong@swtimes.com.
Arkansas
DoorDash activates severe weather protocol, suspending service in parts of Arkansas
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Due to the ongoing winter storm sweeping through the Natural State, DoorDash has activated its Severe Weather Protocol and temporarily suspended operations in Little Rock and various parts of the Natural State.
According to a release Friday night, the precautionary measure comes as the winter storms deliver hazardous conditions across the city, including heavy snowfall and strong winds.
Cities with suspended operations include Little Rock, North Little Rock, Conway, Pine Bluff, Jacksonville, Cabot, Searcy, Malvern, Lonoke, Heber Springs, Star City, Clinton, Rison and Sheridan.
“With heavy snowfall and low visibility, the snowstorm is a serious threat to our community, and we’ve taken decisive action by activating our Severe Weather Protocol,” DoorDash spokesperson Julian Crowley said. “We deeply appreciate the patience and understanding of Dashers, merchants and consumers, and will resume operations as soon as it’s safe to do so.”
Officials said they will continue to monitor conditions on the ground and will communicate additional changes to their operations as needed.
Arkansas
Knowing the Florida Gators Opponent: Arkansas Razorbacks
Gainesville, Fla. – The Florida Gators men’s basketball team’s next destination is Fayetteville, Ark., as they’ll take on the Arkansas Razorbacks (11-4, 0-2) on Saturday for their third SEC matchup of the season.
Florida is currently sitting at 14-1 on the season and 1-1 in conference play. They opened their SEC slate with a nail-biting loss to the Kentucky Wildcats, losing 106-100 in Lexington.
However, the Gators were able to avenge this loss with one of the most dominant wins in men’s basketball history on Tuesday over No. 1 Tennessee. They trounced the Volunteers 73-43 in the O’Dome, marking the Gators’ first regular-season win over an AP No. 1-ranked team in program history and the biggest win over a No. 1-ranked team in the NCAA since 1968.
But enough about what Florida has done this season, let’s shift the focus to their opponents, the Razorbacks, and see who they are.
Arkansas’ season started out nice with a win over Lipscomb. However, it wouldn’t be the same for them in their second game of the season against then-ranked No. 8 Baylor, as they found themselves on the losing end of a tightly contested battle.
Then, following a good stretch for the team in red, they were tasked with the current No. 13 in the AP Poll, Illinois, and things wouldn’t go so well for new Razorbacks head coach John Calipari. His team was outclassed in this game 90-77, which ended their winning streak at four.
Arkansas did make amends with their fans a few games later, though. While participating in the Jimmy V Classic, they matched up with then-ranked No. 14 Michigan, who they narrowed past 89-87.
This win over the Wolverines helped maintain a three-game win streak that would eventually turn into a six-game streak. However, since SEC play started for the Razorbacks, they are 0-2 with losses to Tennessee and Ole Miss, who are currently ranked in the Top 25 AP Poll.
These pair of losses put Arkansas at just a 1-4 record against teams on their schedule to have been ranked or that are currently ranked.
While it was a complete roster overhaul for Calipari and the Razorbacks this offseason that was fueled by the transfer portal, their biggest grab has been from the high school ranks.
They added highly ranked players like Johnell Davis, Adou Thiero and Jonas Aidoo all from the portal, but it’s former five-star guard Boogie Fland who’s been arguably the best player for the Razorbacks this season.
Fland is averaging 15.5 points, 5.9 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game through 15 games this season. He is also connecting on 35.7 percent of his threes, which shows he’s more than just an inside scorer. Additionally, his 5.9 assists rank 24th among his competitors.
But in these first two SEC games, Fland is just 10-for-35 from the field and 3-for-17 from deep.
If the Gators can’t keep him in check like he’s been over these last two, then it might be a long afternoon for the visitors on Saturday.
Despite bringing in tons of talent that should’ve resulted in a great offense, Arkansas has been anything but that.
They currently rank inside the bottom five teams in the SEC in scoring offense, averaging 79.4 points per game. They do have two players scoring at least 15.0 points per game, but that’s pretty much it. Outside of Thiero (16.9) and Fland, they only have one other player in double figures (DJ Wagner, 10.5).
Moreover, if this becomes a free-throw-dominated affair, the Gators shouldn’t be too worried about the Razorbacks’ performance at the line. They are shooting 71.1 percent from the charity stripe, which is good for 12th in the league.
And, lastly, they have little to no presence on the glass. They are the worst team in the SEC in offensive rebounding, and they are 13th out of 16 teams in overall rebounding. These are two areas where the Gators dominate, and if things play out like they have been this season, then the visitors should outmuscle their counterparts.
This game will be televised on Saturday at 4 pm on ESPN.
Arkansas
Viewer pictures: The Natural State transforms into a winter wonderland
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A winter storm rolled into Arkansas Thursday and brought with it snow to the majority of western and central Arkansas.
Many from around the Natural State sent in pictures of their area covered in snow.
Though Arkansas is already full of natural beauty, there’s something about the state covered in snow that makes it even more of a winter wonderland.
Several kids from around the state got out and took advantage of the day off of school by throwing snowballs, digging up the snow, sledding and of course making snow angels.
Many who got out in the snow had enough accumulated to make snow men.
Share your snow day pictures at KARK.com/winter-pics.
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