FAYETTEVILLE -- In his final game, Arkansas' broken game-breaker finally broke open a game.
Senior receiver Demetrius Wilson's diving touchdown catch of quarterback Brandon Allen's 36-yard pass in the second quarter gave Arkansas a 10-0 lead and broke open Monday night's Texas Bowl matchup against the Texas Longhorns.
For good measure, Wilson caught a 16-yard pass from Allen in the second half that fueled the game-sealing touchdown drive as the Razorbacks defeated the Longhorns 31-7 at NRG Stadium in Houston to cap a 7-6 season.
The performance served as a reward for the star-crossed junior college transfer who was signed by a coach who never coached him. Wilson was supposed to be among the 2012 heirs to the receiving shoes vacated by the Razorbacks' record-breaking threesome of Joe Adams, Jarius Wright and Greg Childs.
Big (6-3, 200 pounds), fast and fresh off catching 51 passes for 927 yards and 10 touchdowns during his sophomore season at Glendale (Ariz.) Community College, Wilson was signed by former coach Bobby Petrino to be the game-breaking complement to lone returning receiver Cobi Hamilton.
We all know what happened next. Petrino was fired in an April 2012 scandal that set back the program and perhaps set back Wilson along with it.
A preseason top 10 team unraveled to 4-8 under hastily hired former assistant John L. Smith.
Whether caused by the team's general struggles or simply that first year adjusting to major college football, Wilson wasn't much of a factor until late in the 2012 season. He finished with 9 catches for 117 yards, including a 23-yard catch, in an SEC victory at Auburn, had 2 for 25 yards in a nonconference victory over Tulsa and a 9-yard TD catch in a SEC loss at South Carolina.
New Coach Bret Bielema, new receivers coach Michael Smith and new offensive coordinator Jim Chaney saw Wilson's 2012 late-season progress on film. They also saw him practice firsthand in the spring of 2013.
They liked what they saw and often said so. Bielema, Smith and Chaney were counting big-time on Wilson right up to the August preseason practice when the rangy receiver severely tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.
A long, painful rehab ensued as Wilson redshirted while the Hogs wallowed to 3-9 overall and 0-8 in the SEC in 2013.
Wilson was limited for spring drills in 2014 and only practiced once a day during last August's two-a-days, but he pressed on. He missed only one game and in a supporting role had caught 15 passes for 168 yards going into the bowl.
Now Wilson finishes his Arkansas career immortalized like Razorbacks who beat Texas inevitably are.
And although finished at Arkansas, he may not be finished with football.
That diving catch over Texas could have NFL scouts scrutinizing Wilson when he plays in the Medal of Honor senior all-star game Saturday in Charleston, S.C.
Sports on 01/03/2015