For the largest part of Saturday night’s scrimmage, watching Arkansas’ wide receivers was like watching the Supremes put on a concert while Diana Ross stood silently offstage.

There were a few good notes here and there, but for the most part, it seemed like the fans who showed up itching to cheer were waiting for Marcus Monk to come off the sideline and save the show.

Monk, of course, is Arkansas’ supremely talented wideout who is resting a repaired knee. He never left the sideline.

Instead, the 12 remaining receivers on the Razorbacks’ roster tried their best to pick up the slack, more often than not with little success.

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Yes, sophomore London Crawford hauled in a 21-yard throw from Casey Dick in the early going and added a tough catch over the middle late.

Yes, redshirt freshman Carlton Salters made some nice grabs, including a 20-yard hookup with backup quarterback Nathan Emert.

And, yes, junior Reggie Fish caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Dick during a Red Zone drill near the end of the evening.

But Arkansas’ receivers mostly looked like a bunch of backup singers struggling to make it through a set of numbers, while their leader stood helplessly to the side.

Music lovers rarely leave a concert before the encore, though, and most of the 4, 000 or so football fans who went to Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Saturday night stayed until the very end, too.

Coach Houston Nutt rewarded their loyalty by putting Dick and some of the other starters back into the action.

This time, freshman Crosby Tuck lined up at split end, and the result was everyone singing his praises as they hit the exit gates.

“He makes plays,” Nutt said.

“He’s separating and finishing better than anyone we’ve got,” added offensive coordinator David Lee.

The offense started the final series at its 40-yard line, and after Dick threw incomplete to Fish on first down, Tuck separated from sophomore transfer cornerback Brandon Barnett, took a throw from Dick and picked up 23 yards.

Tuck had beaten junior corner Jamar Love twice earlier in the scrimmage — making nifty catches of Nathan Dick passes both times — but like any good singer, he saved his best for last. Tuck beat Barnett again, this time taking Casey Dick’s strike 37 yards down the sideline and into the end zone.

End of scrimmage.

Beginning of questions for Tuck, the 6-1, 185-pounder from Shiloh Christian and Arkansas’ most productive preseason receiver.

“We’ve got a lot of good receivers, and there’s a lot of people going for those spots,” Tuck said with a humility that’s becoming quickly apparent. “I’ve just got to see where Coach Lee, Coach [Alex ] Wood and Coach Nutt think I should be this year and in years to come.

“ I’m just letting them decide, and I’m OK with whatever is best.”

Lee summed up the coaches ’ thoughts on what they believe is best pretty clearly.

“We’ve got to play him,” Lee said.

As Tuck was the first to point out, though, the speed of the game will increase again when the regular season starts, just as it did when he began the transition from Shiloh to the SEC a couple of weeks ago. He hasn’t even caught a real pass in a real game yet.

Tuck’s also quick to point out he’s still digesting the playbook. He said some of his routes could be sharper, too, and that he’s mainly just glad to be past the first week of practice.

“I don’t want to say clueless, but I was confused quite a bit,” Tuck said. “I was thinking so hard that it was making me drop some passes that I know I can catch.”

But now that the knowledge of the offense is sinking in, it appears Tuck’s hands have been freed to do their thing. What they’ve done is breathe some life into Arkansas’ wheezing passing game.

Whether Tuck is ready for the spotlight remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt he’s made the best of his audition.

“That’s what everyone is here for and what everybody wants — to get to play in the games — so the coaches showing the faith to put me in really means a lot,” Tuck said. “I’ve just got to try to run with it and see where that takes us.”

Music fans like to play a little game called “I Saw Them First.” If Tuck becomes a star, those who were there Saturday night can say, “I saw him first.”