Razorbacks Report

Hatcher expected by June

Arkansas receiver Keon Hatcher runs drills during practice Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

Arkansas receiver Keon Hatcher had a followup procedure on his broken left foot last week and should be back at full speed in June, Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said Thursday.

Hatcher, who broke the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot during a loss to Toledo in September, missed the rest of the season.

Bielema said Hatcher experienced soreness during the final days of spring drills and the decision was made to re-visit the injury.

"We went back in and looked at it," Bielema said on Thursday's SEC West coaches teleconference. "All they did was basically took the procedure that was done before and reinforced it. But what they really wanted to do was put some bone graft in around it to cure it and make it even stronger for him moving forward.

"It wasn't another fracture. It wasn't another big procedure. It was something that was there to strengthen the one in the past."

Bielema said the move was a proactive one.

"Everything went great and they feel good about it," he said during a spring wrap news conference. "Keon is pretty upbeat as well."

Hatcher had posted a picture of his left foot and a scooter on social media Sunday, saying he had undergone another surgery, but there was no further information.

Bielema said team doctors have told him Hatcher should need four to six weeks to recover from the latest operation.

"We have a three-week discretionary period here and he should be with us full-time in June and do everything functionally for sure by fall camp," Bielema said.

Hatcher had 15 catches for 198 yards and 2 touchdowns through two games last fall.

Hatcher, considered one of the team's most respected leaders by Bielema, is part of a deep senior class of receivers that also includes Drew Morgan, Dominique Reed and Cody Hollister.

Breaking news

Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said he can draw no correlation between the run on foot injuries that have affected the Razorbacks in the past year and any factor, such as the turf, footwear, workout regimens or anything else.

"Believe me, after the second foot injury, I was concerned," he said. "I kind of had a rash of these before, one time at the University of Wisconsin.

"The injuries themselves have come from five different turfs. We had one on outside grass, indoor turf, our home stadium as well as an away game stadium for the six or seven foot injuries. All of them, except for one, had a different shoe, so it was all types of different shoes. In addition, the function of how they broke it was all different functions as well."

Running back Jonathan Williams tore a ligament in his foot last Aug. 15 when he was landed on by 300-plus pound teammate DeMarcus Hodge. Receivers Keon Hatcher (War Memorial Stadium on Sept. 12) and Cody Hollister (in practice Sept. 15) suffered broken feet within four days. Running back Kody Walker broke his foot while planting on a pass route during spring drills.

Bielema said the team has been in contact with Nike, its shoe provider, to take a closer look.

Injury updates

Senior receiver Drew Morgan posted on social media that Thursday was his final day in rehab following his winter shoulder surgery.

"Shoulder is 100% thanks to Matt Summers and our Docs here at the U of A!" Morgan wrote on his Twitter account, referring to the team's head athletic trainer.

Coach Bret Bielema said tight end Jack Kraus, who missed spring with a torn knee ligament suffered during bowl practices, had lost some "baby weight" from his 260-pound reporting weight while rehabbing the injury and that he's now back up to 253 pounds.

"I love Jack's demeanor, everything about him," Bielema said. "He's engaged in the game. I'll be really surprised if he doesn't help us out in the fall.

Evans out

Junior running back Denzell Evans is planning to graduate this spring and likely seek a graduate transfer for his final two seasons of eligibility.

Coach Bret Bielema said he had a great conversation with Evans on Wednesday.

"I think Denzell knows he's one of my favorites," he said. "I get him involved in every special team I can because I just love the way he plays. Unfortunately, there's only a certain number of reps that can go through. He'll get his degree, which is everything to his family, as well as me. Then we'll help him find a place for him to go play football."

Coming back

Bret Bielema said defensive end Tevin Beanum, who was given an excused absence for most of spring drills to attend to a personal issue, has been "very positive and upbeat" since rejoining the team just prior to the end of spring.

"He just kind of went through a rough point," Bielema said. "The further I've gotten in this profession, there's a lot of things that go into a kid's life away from the field too that come up, and that's kind of what him and D.J. [Dean] were dealing with. Some things are bigger than the football field and bigger than college in general. We helped them get through it and hopefully good things happen."

Adding on

The Razorbacks have a couple of scholarship slots open and are looking to fill them.

"We've had some people visit," Bret Bielema said. "I've had some inquiries. I've specifically waited until after spring ball. Kind of just like Denzell Evans ... there is a person in a position that has an interest."

Process sought

Bret Bielema said he proposed during meetings of the American Football Coaches Association earlier this week that a mechanism should be put in place to help underclassmen who are not taken in the NFL Draft return to school.

Bielema said he asked if "there was some way we could find a loophole or an appeals process that would give those kids that don't get drafted a chance to come back if they repay everything to regain their eligibility."

Bielema had scheduled a face-to-face meeting in south Florida with Denver Kirkland this winter, such as the one he had with running back Alex Collins, but Kirkland announced he was turning pro and the meeting never took place.

"He made the decision before we had a chance to cross paths," Bielema said. "He informed me before I was flying down that day he had already signed with his agent, and he ended up letting that agent go the day before the draft."

Kirkland was one of 30 declared underclassmen who went undrafted. He then agreed on a free agent deal with the Oakland Raiders on Saturday.

Sports on 05/06/2016