UA wide receivers grasp new-look offense

The wide receivers run drills Monday August 6, 2018 during practice at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- The opportunities in front of the wide receivers at the University of Arkansas must look like a reverse Pandora's box.

Open the lid on Chad Morris' offense coordinated by Joe Craddock and watch hope spring forth in abundance.

Wide receivers glance

Returning starters Jonathan Nance (6 starts in 2017), Deon Stewart (6), Jordan Jones (6), Jared Cornelius (2)

Losses Brandon Martin (academics), Maleek Barkley (transferred), Kofi Boating (transferred)

Who’s back La’Michael Pettway (3 starts in ’17), Jarrod Barnes, Koilan Jackson, De’Vion Warren, Gary Cross

Who’s new Mike Woods, Chase Harrell

Walk-ons Tobias Enlow, Tyson Morris, Peyton Ausley, Jimmie Stoudemire

Analysis The first wave of wideouts features veterans such as Cornelius, Nance and Pettway, while Jones and Stewart are aiming to re-establish the positions they held last season. Warren, a key return specialist who had a good spring, leads the pack of 2017 signees that includes Jarrod Barnes and Koilan Jackson, whose surgically repaired knee will be closely monitored as he adds harder cuts. True freshman Mike Woods has a lot of the attributes the coaching staff admires, though his drinking and driving arrest in July was a setback. Chase Harrell, a 6-4, 215-pound transfer, will be the largest in the position group, which is now without 6-4 Brandon Martin, who had a disappointing 2017 season before academic eligibility tripped him up.

"It's a blessing to us for sure, knowing that we'll get as many touches as we will," junior La'Michael Pettway said.

"I can't explain how motivated I am," said senior Jared Cornelius, who elected to return for his senior season after rehabbing from Achilles surgery, largely because of the offense being imported by Morris and company from SMU. "Just being able to go through what I went through last year, having a coaching change ... and this staff and this offense, it couldn't happen any better for me.

"The receivers, of course we're excited to catch 50 balls a game. We're excited for what this offense is capable of and what Coach Morris is going to bring."

The Razorbacks have two receivers with 500-yard seasons on their roster -- Jonathan Nance's 539 yards last year and Cornelius' 515 yards in 2016 -- and two more men with 400-plus yards in Deon Stewart (404) and Jordan Jones (401) last year.

SMU had a pair of 1,000-yard pass catchers last year in Trey Quinn (1,236) and Courtland Sutton (1,085), plus another 816 yards by James Proche. The year before, Sutton had 1,246 receiving yards, while Proche added 709.

"Watching the SMU cut-ups, as much as they threw the ball, it's only up for us," Pettway said. "I feel the receivers are hungry and we're going to show it."

The Hogs receivers had "Bomb Squad" T-shirts made in the spring in anticipation of a larger number of deep-ball opportunities.

Nance, the less heralded teammate of No. 1 junior-college prospect and Razorback signee Brandon Martin, led the team in receptions (37), yards and touchdown catches (5) last year. Nance said the receivers have "everything to prove but nothing to lose."

"I feel like we'll come out and shock everybody every game," Nance said. "They don't know what we have. They don't know what we're capable of. I feel like we're ready."

Receivers coach Justin Stepp has the veteran players plus a vast array of younger wideouts with untapped potential.

"I think the No. 1 thing we've got is competition," Stepp said. "Competition makes everybody better. You can't have a bad day. Everything counts in our group."

Receivers in Morris' offense are designated by numbers: 2 and 9 are split the widest, the 2 man to the field and the 9 man to the boundary, while the 5 man is in the slot and is typically a bigger body.

The first offensive unit in camp started with Nance at 2, Cornelius at 5 and Pettway at 9. Most of the receivers train at multiple spots. Stewart and Jones had slow springs, while sophomore De'Vion Warren, freshman Mike Woods, and walk-ons Tobias Enlow and Tyson Morris appeared to be on the rise.

Jones -- who averaged 19.1 yards per catch last season, easily the highest on the team among players with more than two receptions -- is an interesting prospect because of his top-end speed.

"Picking up the offense and just being consistent," Stepp said when asked what held Jones back in the spring. "That's one thing Jordan and I have had numerous conversations about. It's how you work out in the weight room. It's how you sit in class. It's how you go to tutors.

"Just bring that consistent work ethic every single day. He's had a really good summer. He's one of the ones I'm really excited to see what he does in the fall."

Jones said he's in a much better place this camp than in the spring.

"The spring for me was different because I was playing in the slot, playing a position that I had never really played in my life," he said. "So it was different for me and I really wasn't comfortable, really wasn't having as much fun as I once was.

"But I've changed positions. I went back out wide. Now I'm back where I'm comfortable."

Jones is getting most of his reps at the 9 spot, where Pettway and Woods work.

"I'm ready to make a move," Jones said. "It's time."

Warren, Jarrod Barnes and Koilan Jackson, who is almost one year removed from knee surgery, comprised a big class of receiver signees in 2017 who will jockey for playing time.

The group was bolstered during the summer with the arrival of 6-4, 215-pound Chase Harrell, a Kansas transfer who looks like a prototype 5 man in the scheme.

Woods, a 6-1, 190-pounder and former SMU commit who followed the staff to Arkansas, earned good reviews in camp, then was arrested for suspected driving under the influence and underage possession of alcohol in July.

"He's taken it head on," Stepp said. "He knows it's a bad choice. He's working his tail off. There's nobody who's going to work any harder to earn trust back and work any harder to get this thing taken care of than Mike Woods."

Craddock described what he needs from his receivers.

"First of all, it's toughness," he said. "Our receivers don't just catch footballs. They've got to be able to block well. A lot of teams aren't really worried about the receivers blocking, but I want tough, tough, mentally tough and physically tough receivers.

"Secondly, we're looking for speed. Whoever can run the fastest but also catch the football when it comes to them is huge. We're looking to take the top off the defense. We're looking for consistency at that position. We can't have silly drops. So it's consistency, toughness, knowing what to do and then speed."

Because of the deep numbers, the competition will be thick.

"We're going to be deep, and that's going to help us a lot," Cornelius said. "We're going to be able to trade in guys. We're thinking now six, seven, eight guys are going to play on Saturdays or are capable of playing on Saturdays. We're going to be a deep receiver corps that's not going to get very tired and is going to have a lot of playmakers."

The receivers got more fit over the summer with a more significant running regimen.

"I'm in the best shape of my life man," Pettway said. "I feel like as a team we're in the best shapes of our lives."

Pettway said the crew is out to make a splash.

"For sure, we're slept on by so many people," he said. "We're picked not to win any [SEC] games this year. I feel honestly that we could be one of the best receiving corps in the nation.

"We've got talent in the room. Us being slept on, it makes us hungry."

Sports on 08/07/2018