FAYETTEVILLE — Barry Lunney Jr. isn’t much of a NASCAR fan.
Arkansas’ tight ends coach claims he’s never watched a race in his life. But he used a racing analogy Tuesday when asked if heralded junior college transfer Jeremy Patton would be in the tight end rotation if the Razorbacks’ season opener was Saturday.
“He's behind in the race," Lunney Jr. said. "He may be a lap behind, but he's got his foot on the gas pedal and he's doing his best to try to catch up. I believe he's got the car to do it.”
Patton is behind because he only recently arrived on campus for the second summer session. The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder was initially an early signee and planned to enroll for the spring semester, but wasn’t able to qualify on time and had to stay at his JUCO longer than anticipated.
That has complicated matters for the consensus No. 1 JUCO tight end prospect. The staff hoped he’d be able to acclimate himself to Division I ball in the spring and position himself to play a large role in replacing the production of Jeremy Sprinkle, who graduated and was drafted by the Washington Redskins this spring. Instead, he’s playing catch up in fall camp, trying to fast track his conditioning and understanding of the playbook.
“There's a collective five months of work that he missed out on that he could have been here, or could have had the chance to be lifting, learning, acclimating, those types of things,” Lunney Jr. said. “So yeah, I think it goes without question that it didn't help him, certainly.”
And it’s not like Patton is facing a dearth of competition for playing time. Even with Sprinkle’s graduation, the Razorbacks are arguably deeper at tight end than any position on the team.
Sophomore Austin Cantrell is the clear-cut top tight end on the roster, a physical run blocker who has dropped weight to try and improve his receiving skills after catching 13 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns while working in tandem with Sprinkle last season.
Grayson Gunter, Cheyenne O’Grady and Jack Kraus have all played meaningful snaps and each brings a different skill set to the table. The Razorbacks often utilize two tight end sets and have played up to four throughout the course of games in the past. Lunney suggested Tuesday the number could be higher, but sophomore Will Gragg is proof playing time isn’t guaranteed.
Gragg, like Patton, arrived on campus as a highly touted recruit. He redshirted as a true freshman, didn’t play as a redshirt freshman last year and is by all accounts still buried on the depth chart.
But Arkansas is counting on Patton to make an impact and so far he’s shown the willingness to compete to earn snaps.
“He’s behind a little bit from a conditioning standpoint because he hasn’t been here as long, but you’ve seen mental toughness from him because he’s fought through each practice and finished it,” offensive coordinator Dan Enos said. “He’s flashed with his ball skills, his toughness and his ability to strain already. He’ll help us.”
The Hogs hope he helps sooner than later. Lunney Jr. may not follow racing, but he knows to wager on the fast car, hence his bet on Patton.
“The closest I've gotten to watching that would be watching Ricky Bobby,” Lunney Jr. said. “Other than that, I don't know much about it. Actually, to be honest with you, I think that was a pretty good analogy even though I'm not a race car guy.”