Practice notebook: Former Mizzou linemen didn't plan on playing together again

Arkansas defensive lineman Markell Utsey (0) runs through a drill Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, during practice at the university practice facility in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE — Former Missouri teammates Markell Utsey and Tre Williams didn’t enter the transfer portal necessarily planning to end up at the same school, but both seniors are now Arkansas Razorbacks.

“After I hit the portal, I talked to him,” said Utsey, who is from Little Rock Parkview. “I had heard he hit the portal, but I didn’t know how true it was, so I called him because I figured if he did, we were going through kind of the same thing.”

Utsey said he and Williams learned they both were considering Arkansas, where their former Coach Barry Odom was serving as defensive coordinator, and made a decision to both sign with the Razorbacks.

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All-SEC picks

Six Arkansas players were selected to the preseason coaches’ All-SEC team, including first-team selections in receiver Treylon Burks, linebacker Grant Morgan and center Ricky Stromberg.

The teams, announced on Tuesday, also included a second-team choice in safety Jalen Catalon and third-team selections in guard Ty Clary and tackle Myron Cunningham.

Burks, a junior from Warren, led the Razorbacks with 51 catches for 820 yards and 7 touchdowns. He ranked third in the SEC with 91.1 receiving yards per game despite missing one full game and most of another.

A second-team All-SEC choice following the 2020 season, Burks was one of only two FBS receivers to post 800-plus receiving yards and 70-plus rushing yards.

Morgan, of Greenwood, was a second-team All-America pick by Walter Camp and the American Football Coaches Association after leading the SEC with 111 tackles and tying for second nationally with 12.3 tackles per game.

Stromberg, a junior from Tulsa, Okla., ranked second among Arkansas linemen with a 69.7 run-blocking grade last season. He allowed one sack on 355 pass blocking plays and notched six games with a 70-plus pass blocking grade.

Catalon, who had 99 tackles last season, was named a second-team Associated Press (AP) preseason All-American on Monday. The native of Mansfield, Texas, tied for the FBS lead among freshmen with 9.9 tackles per game, despite missing complete halves in two games and parts of two other quarters.

A Freshman All-America selection by the Football Writers Association of America and a first-team All-SEC pick by the AP last year, Catalon was the first SEC freshman since Tennessee’s Eric Berry in 2007 to record at least 87 tackles and three interceptions.

Cunningham started all 10 games at left tackle and led the Razorbacks with 705 snaps played. The senior from Warren, Ohio, had four games with an 80-plus pass blocking grade while allowing two sacks.

Clary, a senior from Fayetteville, made seven starts while playing in eight games last year. He drew two penalties, the fewest for any Razorback offensive lineman with at least 400 snaps.

Roster report

The list of Razorbacks not seen during the viewing window in Tuesday’s full pads workout were receiver Treylon Burks, tackle Dalton Wagner, tight end Hudson Henry, defensive end Tre Williams, punter Sam Loy and offensive lineman Ryan Winkel. Williams came off with a slight limp during fastball starts on Monday.

A variety of players in green no-contact jerseys were: running backs Trelon Smith and T.J. Hammonds, receiver De’Vion Warren, defensive backs Jalen Catalon, Jermaine Hamilton-Jordan, Zach Zimos and Kevin Compton, offensive lineman Ty Clary, tight end Blake Kern, and linebacker JT Towers.

Ty’Kieast Crawford and Beaux Limmer had the starting spots on the right side with Wagner and Clary out.

Defensive end Jashaud Stewart has switched jersey numbers, from 58 to 54. Stewart took reps with the first unit on Tuesday with Williams out.

Cornerbacks Coach Sam Carter wore jersey No. 11.

Busta B-day

Defensive backs Kevin Compton and Nick Turner picked off passes during one-on-one work in the red zone on Tuesday and immediately rushed them over to present to senior leader Montaric “Busta” Brown at the urging of cornerbacks coach Sam Carter.

The occasion was Brown’s birthday, with the Ashdown product turning 22.

Compton’s interception was the most impressive, as he wrestled it away from Bryce Stephens as the pair fell to the grass on a throw from Malik Hornsby.

Turner might’ve gotten away with a hold before he snagged a Cade Renfro in-cut intended for Tyson Morris.

One on one

Trey Knox caught a fade route touchdown from KJ Jefferson in tough coverage from Montaric Brown to open a one-on-one session from the 7-yard line.

Jaquayln Crawford had a good session, catching a pair of scoring throws from Jefferson.

Cornerback Hudson Clark had a pair of breakups, on passes meant for Tyson Morris and Warren Thompson.

After a Malik Hornsby pass fell incomplete for Chris Harris, cornerbacks Coach Sam Carter asked the back judge near the play, “Was that a hold or not? If that’s a hold, call it.”

Kendall Catalon made one the top plays of the period, snagging a back-shoulder throw from Hornsby with Devin Bush in tight coverage.

Other touchdowns went to John David White, Bryce Stephens and Darin Turner.

Fastball starts

Trey Knox had a step on nickel back Greg Brooks down a seam on the final play of the first rack led by KJ Jefferson during Tuesday’s fastball starts. As Knox reached up to make the deep-ball catch only one arm came up, as Brooks appeared to snag the other. The ball bounced high off Knox’s chest and fell incomplete, but Knox reacted as if he should have still caught the ball on what was likely a defensive pass interference call.

Otherwise, Jefferson threw incomplete on a short pass, and found John David White on a quick hitter. In between those two plays, Trelon Smith popped through a hole in the middle and was on his way to a solid gain in the secondary.

With the second unit, Raheim “Rocket” Sanders had a couple of runs, then quarterback Malik Hornsby ran at left end after not finding an open receiver. Hornsby’s pass for Warren Thompson sailed high on the final rep.

Kade Renfro ran the third group, which got five snaps and opened with a pair of Dominique Johnson runs. Renfro kept on the third play at left end. He threw incomplete for Chris Harris on the next snap, with Keaun Parker getting a pass breakup. On the fifth play, Renfro ran a bootleg left and threw the ball out of bounds when he spotted no open receivers.

Big stadium

Before John Ridgeway transferred to Arkansas, the defensive lineman played three seasons at Illinois State, an FCS school and Missouri Valley Conference member in his hometown of Bloomington, Ill.

Illinois State plays its home games in Hancock Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 15,000.

Ridgeway will play his home games at Arkansas in Reynolds Razorback Stadium, which has a capacity of 76,000.

“That’s like the size of my town,” Ridgeway said. ‘I was like, ‘Dang, that’s a lot. I could basically invite the whole town of Bloomington here if they wanted to.”

Bloomington’s population for the 2019 census was 78,015.

Dog and dragon

Defensive lineman John Ridgeway has two pets. His dog is a pit bull and boxer mix. He also has a bearded dragon lizard.