FAYETTEVILLE — Hayden Johnson has been option Nos. 1, 2 and 3 at fullback the first few days of fall camp.
The 6-foot-3, 248-pound true freshman from Columbia, Mo., has stepped onto campus and immediately been giving a shot to earn substantial playing time at a vital position in Arkansas’ offense.
“He shocked everyone,” senior right tackle Dan Skipper said. “He’s taken dang near every rep. It’s really impressive to see a guy stepping into a role, the only true fullback in camp, taken that and ran with it.”
Johnson played a number of positions in high school, but projected as a fullback to the next level, which led to him being rated either the No. 3 or 4 fullback in the 2016 recruiting class by national services. Arkansas’ staff hopes he can make an immediate impact at a position that was less than stellar for the Hogs a year ago.
“He’s been here three months and today’s his first day in pads and he’s asked to do a bunch of stuff, because our offense isn’t exactly simple for a fullback,” Skipper said. “For him to just get plugged in and go knock heads, that’s pretty impressive to see.”