FAYETTEVILLE -- The future of Arkansas' tight ends in the post-Jeremy Sprinkle era was in full view on a cool Saturday evening in Starkville, Miss., last week.
Sprinkle was up to his usual business, snagging a couple of passes for 37 yards, including a 24-yard catch early in the third quarter to set up a touchdown.
Catching on
Arkansas wideouts Drew Morgan, Keon Hatcher, Jared Cornelius, Dominique Reed, Cody Hollister, Deon Stewart and La’Michael Pettway have combined for 141 receptions for 1,995 yards and 17 touchdowns. Here’s a look at the production in the passing game from tight ends, tailbacks and fullbacks.
Player Rec.-Yds-TD YPC
Jeremy Sprinkle 29-332-4 11.4
Rawleigh Williams 13-175-1 13.5
Austin Cantrell 11-108-1 9.8
Devwah Whaley 4-106-0 26.5
Grayson Gunter 1-29-0 29.0
Cheyenne O’Grady 1-23-0 23.0
Kody Walker 3-21-0 7.0
Hayden Johnson 1-18-0 18.0
Kendrick Jackson 1-1-0 1.0
Totals 64-813-6 12.7
But the young players behind him, who have performed mostly in the background as blockers for much of 2016, began to join the senior in the limelight during Arkansas' 58-42 victory over the Bulldogs.
Redshirt freshman Austin Cantrell had two catches for 33 yards, including his first touchdown. Redshirt freshman Cheyenne O'Grady and true freshman Grayson Gunter caught their first college passes with gains of 23 and 29 yards, respectively. Redshirt sophomore Jack Kraus had a couple of good blocks on running plays.
"We had five tight ends play and four of us caught passes, so it's going to be harder for other teams to game plan for that," Cantrell said.
"It was a fun night for us," Arkansas tight ends coach Barry Lunney Jr. said. "We kind of wanted to start developing some more confidence in their ability to play here on this level. ... We played a sophomore and three freshmen in the game. This time next year, we're not going to have Jeremy, so having those guys gain some confidence is a good thing."
The most evident emergence came from Cantrell, the quickest bloomer from Arkansas' No. 1-rated tight end signing class of 2015, which also included O'Grady and Will Gragg.
Cantrell has been Sprinkle's top backup for most of the year and the player who has paired with him most often in two-tight end sets. A multipurpose, big-bodied athlete from Roland, Okla., Cantrell entered the game with nine catches for 75 yards and a penchant for pancake blocks as a motion tight end.
The 6-4, 269-pounder rambled 32 yards with a tight end screen on the drive that included Sprinkle's long gainer, then he snared a 1-yard touchdown pass from running back Rawleigh Williams on fourth and goal to cap that drive.
"It was cool, man," Cantrell said. "It felt like high school again, being able to get some yards."
Cantrell laughed when asked about Williams' left-handed jump pass, on which he had to pivot and fall to properly secure.
"It wasn't a great pass," he said, laughing, "but we got that done."
Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema has been talking up Cantrell's development in all parts of tight end play.
"As you develop a body of work during the season, you naturally have tendencies," Bielema said. "It's easy to focus in on 83 [Sprinkle]. 44 [Cantrell], if you wanna get whacked in the side of the head, he's been pretty good at that ... and we tried to give him another opportunity to showcase his skills.
"He's actually a very talented ball carrier. In high school, he was a running back, a quarterback, a little bit of a tight end."
Offensive coordinator Dan Enos said the Razorbacks had run the screen play earlier in the year from a different formation and personnel grouping.
"Austin is a very capable receiver," Enos said. "A lot of times, with the spotlight on Jeremy, we do things to get the ball to Austin as well. He had great timing on the screen, and he had a good finish to it.
"He probably doesn't put a lump in people's throat like Jeremy does with the athleticism, but he's a guy that can run well, and he can catch the ball and he's physical."
O'Grady's playing time has developed since Arkansas' road game at Auburn on Oct. 22. The Fayetteville High product has been in and out of Bielema's doghouse for off-the-field issues such as accountability and academic focus.
"He has got unbelievable, unprecedented, really, really good upside talent," Bielema said. "But it doesn't do ... any good sitting on the sidelines. Until he buys in to what we're asking him to do and does everything we're asking him to do, he'll be sporadic in his opportunities."
O'Grady was quarterback Austin Allen's target on a first-down pass from the Mississippi State 27 on Arkansas' second series. Allen was on the move and threw a little high off the uncovered O'Grady's fingertips at the goal line.
"Those guys are really athletic, and they're coming along and learning the game," Allen said. "I wish I could have hit C.J. with his first catch for a touchdown. Those young guys have a lot of good football ahead of them. They'll be big factors in this program for the years to come."
Allen did connect with O'Grady on a 23-yard play-action pass in the second quarter that helped set up Williams' third touchdown, a 7-yard run.
Gunter made his first college catch a memorable one, as the 29-yard gain was the first play of a two-play drive that ended on Williams' 42-yard burst on the next snap.
"The tight end position for them since I've been following Coach has always been important," Missouri Coach Barry Odom said. "They've done such a great job of using and recruiting the skills that he wants to build that roster."
Arkansas' tight ends are a staple of the program under Bielema. A.J. Derby and Hunter Henry have been NFL Draft picks the past two years.
"Barry Lunney has done a great job," Enos said. "It's not a one-week development. It's been a whole season of development for those guys with coach Lunney.
"C.J. [O'Grady] started out down on the scout team. He's emerged back because of his attitude and his play and his effort. He's gone out to practice and earned the trust of his coaches and coach Lunney to put him in the game in some of those moments. We're excited about him. We're excited about Grayson, as well.
"We feel good about throwing it to Grayson ... or C.J. or Austin Cantrell, any of those guys. They just have to get open, do their job and catch it when it's thrown to them. I would say those guys' roles will continue to grow here in the next couple of games and obviously next year when Jeremy isn't here. They're going to have big shoes to fill."
Arkansas' wideouts -- led by seniors Keon Hatcher, Drew Morgan and Dominique Reed, and junior Jared Cornelius -- have attracted plenty of coverage much of the year. As defenses have tried to tighten up on the Razorbacks' receiver routes, Enos has further accentuated plays to the backs and tight ends.
Tailbacks Williams and Devwah Whaley have combined for seven receptions for 182 yards on screen plays in the past three games. And now the tight ends behind Sprinkle, who has been a willing mentor for the backups, are emerging.
Sports on 11/24/2016