Arkansas State’s Omar Bayless: The Most Disrespected WR On Earth

The nation’s leading receiver is have trouble gaining the respect of the establishment.

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Four years ago, the following video appeared in my Twitter feed:

@HowlYes @AStateFanRules pic.twitter.com/LPoUUGjKQj

— Matt Shadeed (@CoachMShadeed) November 22, 2015

Omar Bayless, a freshman WR and 3-star recruit from Mississippi, executing a flatfooted backflip. At six-foot-three, that was pretty damned impressive. Right away, I became a fan of Bayless. The next season, I wrote this about him:

I had jumped the gun a bit. In 2016, Bayless recorded 117 yards and a single touchdown. In fact, for the next three seasons, Bayless would wait his turn, quietly doing his job while Kirk Merrit and Dijon Paschal and Justin McInnis received the spotlight. But then he did this against Georgia Southern:

#TBT to Omar Bayless' go ahead Touchdown with 1️⃣4️⃣ seconds left in the ball game to beat Georgia Southern. #WolvesUp

pic.twitter.com/DJ03kqTqMA

— Arkansas State Football (@AStateFB) May 30, 2019

In 2017, he did it again. The One Handed Catch became a Bayless speciality, reminding us that he was by far the most freakish athlete on the team. He has size. He has speed. He has strength. Most importantly, he has supernatural ability to power through the play after the catch, pushing the defenders aside the Black Friday shoppers at Walmart.

“𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨”
That’s just @omar_bayless making plays.

The Nation’s Leading Receiver
All-American Candidate
Record Breaking Receiver
& still available for the @Shrine_Bowl or @NFLPABowl
#WolvesUp X #NOW
pic.twitter.com/9wSapg0ZMh

— Arkansas State Football (@AStateFB) November 25, 2019

This season, Bayless put up the numbers (and circus catches) to catch the attention of the Biletnikoff Award List and even garner some goodnatured Heisman talk.  As of today, Bayless leads the nation in receiving yards and is tied for the lead in touchdowns. As if that were not enough, he’s blocked two punts.

In recent years, I’ve seen a number of great receivers in the Sun Belt: J.D. McKissic, Penny Hart and Jaleel Scott come to mind. Bayless is better than all of them. Layne Hatcher, freshman QB for Arkansas State, merely has to toss the ball in his general direction. Bayless makes the plays.

And yet, the disrespect.

This week, the leading receiver in the NCAA was not a finalist for the Biletnikoff. This isn’t a surprise. Post season awards are for the Privileged Five. But the lack of invitation from the Senior Bowl has not only been puzzling – it’s been downright insulting.

Actually, they do. Tape don’t.

— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) November 24, 2019

Jim Nagy, Executive Director of the Senior Bowl, doesn’t see much talent in the nation’s leading receiver. He sees more talent in a whopping nine other candidates. The only G5 wide receiver with an invite is Antonio Grandy-Gordon from Liberty. Devin Duvernay from Texas has 8 fewer touchdowns than Bayless. Chase Claypool of Notre Dame has more than 700 fewer yards. And how do you justify Vanderbilt’s Kalija Lipscomb (468 yards, 2 TDs) on this roster? How is the nation’s leading receiver omitted from this team – and bad-mouthed by the bowl’s executive director?

By my count, eight players from the Group of Five have accepted invites to the Senior Bowl (including three from the Sun Belt). That’s about 9% of the roster. Aside from a few FCS invites, the rest belong to the nation’s wealthy programs. It’s clear where the Senior Bowl’s allegiances lie – not with talent.

Omar Bayless is the nation’s best wide receiver. Too bad being the best doesn’t mean much anymore.

A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space. 

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The 2019 Season is a Triumph for the Arkansas State Red Wolves

No matter what happens against South Alabama on Saturday, this season was special. Here’s why:

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The Red Wolves enter the last game of the 2019 regular season 7-4 and eliminated from the divisional title. By recent standards, the record alone rates a C+. And yet, the season is a triumph. A monument to perseverance. A benchmark for future Red Wolves teams to follow. Why?

Consider, the Red Wolves have won seven games despite:

• Losing Wendy Anderson to cancer
• Losing two Sun Belt All-Conference First Team defenders for the season
• Losing a starting QB who was having a break-out season
• Losing 10  players to season-ending injuries, including  Ryan Graham (RB), Isaiah Azubuike (RB), Logan Bonner (QB), Forrest Merrill (DL), Hunter Moreton (DL), Jerry Jacobs (CB), Tony Adams (DL) and Thomas Toki (DL)

Consider what the Red Wolves have gained along with those seven victories:

• A wide receiver who leads the nation in yards and TDs and is a Biletnikoff Award semi-finalist
• A freshman QB who stepped into the starting roll without blinking
• A wide receiver squad featuring three of the top five pass catchers in the Sun Belt
• A 9th consecutive year of bowl eligibility

The obstacle-to-achievement ratio is extraordinary. The Red Wolves passing attack is ranked 15th in the nation without the services of Dahu Green. Step-in quarterback Layne Hatcher ranks third in the Sun Belt for passing yards and second for TDs despite having only seven starts. Omar Bayless, he who leads the nation in receiving, also leads the nation in blocked punts. Even with a decimated defense, William Bradley-King leads the Sun Belt in sacks. Darreon Jackson leads the Sun Belt in tackles.

This is a team that was two special-team snafus from defeating a nationally ranked SMU. This is a team that could have crumbled when struggling against Coastal Carolina and still gritted out a win. This is a team that put the brakes on Georgia Southern’s triple option, and this is the team that flew into Las Vegas and stomped UNLV. This is a team that adjusted to an entirely new staff and has now rolled off four straight victories.

Most of all, the enormous weight of Blake Anderson’s trials cannot be understated. If you’re married, imagine plowing through the thankless grind of a college football season under these sad circumstances – and winning. Rather than selling all his worldly possessions and becoming a lumberjack in Alaska, Coach Anderson found solace and strength with his second family – the Red Wolves. We should be grateful and in awe. This season is a triumph for Blake’s courage alone.

Take joy in this season, Red Wolves fans. The team and its coach has earned it.

A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space. 

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Georgia Southern Eagles vs Arkansas State Red Wolves: Dyin’ Times Here

The only thing this Thunderdome is missing is Tina Turner and a convoluted third act.

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Last season Georgia Southern effectively bounced Arkansas State out of the Sun Belt West with a 28-21 victory – the first game of conference play. The Red Wolves never recovered. Arkansas State would finish behind Louisiana, and darkness settled over Jonesboro.

This season, the time of year has changed, but the stakes are just as high. For both teams. Both are 6-4. Both are 4-2 in conference. Both are glaring upwards at hated enemies. And a loss on Saturday removes all hope of winning their respective divisions.

Two teams enter. One team leaves with a shred of hope intact.

“Thunderdome’s simple. Get to the weapons, use them any way you can.”

The key to a Red Wolves victory is fairly simple – activate Omar Bayless, the offense’s greatest weapon, early and often. Against the Chanticleers, Bayless wasn’t seen until deep in the second quarter, and the Red Wolves struggled to find the end zone. Freshman quarterback Layne Hatcher needs to get the nation’s leading receiver involved right away to keep that stout Eagles’ defense on its heels. Don’t worry about the Georgia Southern DB combo of Monquavion Brinson and Kindle Vildor (who hasn’t suited up the last two games). They’re going to make plays. Bayless will make more.

“Remember where you are – this is Thunderdome, and death is listening, and will take the first man that screams.”

Last week, the Red Wolves coughed up the pill five times. Historically, copious turnovers haven’t necessarily prevented Arkansas State from beating Georgia Southern, but it’s not wise to test this anomaly of the universe again. Hatcher (again, a freshman) will throw a pick or two, but the remaining Red Wolves need to protect the ball at all costs.

Meanwhile, Georgia Southern is tied for 9th in the nation with only 9 turnovers, complements of a run-run-run-run again offense. Forcing mistakes from running back J.D. King and quarterback Shai Wertz hasn’t come easy.

“Right now, I’ve got two men, two men with a gut full of fear. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls… dyin’ times here!”

The stakes are big in Jonesboro on Saturday. While both teams are bowl eligible, not every bowl eligible team will go bowling. A win more-or-less cements postseason action. Neither teams can afford to crumble beneath the weight of the moment.

The Red Wolves have home field advantage, but Georgia Southern has already passed the road game test against the Mountaineers in Boone. Maybe that’s why the Vegas line, which started 1.5 points in favor of Arkansa State, has settled to EVEN?

“Thunderdome. How do I get in there?”

“That’s easy. Pick a fight.”

Eagles and Red Wolves are foes-made-rivals by Saturday’s circumstances. The heat will be felt on the field, and emotions will be dialed to 11. Arkansas State was sloppier than usual against Coastal Carolina. A public rebuke from Coach Anderson and a week of disciplined practice should help clean the laundry.

Final Analysis

Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome was a dopey movie, and Mel Gibson’s frizzy hair extensions were ridiculous. But Tina Turner produced a song that slapped, and I’m still steamed that we never got a Master Blaster prequel. 

As for the game, Vegas was too scared to call it, but I have the foolhardy courage to roll with Arkansas State’s Omar Bayless and a defense that has, beneath the radar, showed flashes of capability.

Georgia Southern Eagles @ Arkansas State Red Wolves, Saturday, 2:00PM on ESPN+

A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space. 

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Red Wolves Win Despite Making Every Effort to Lose

It was ugly, and yet, it was also a win for Arkansas State

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Penalties. Ejections. Muffed picks. Puzzling play calls. Spirit-crushing turnovers. The Red Wolves dug deep into Chagrin’s Hip Pocket to find every and any measure to lose the game. But when the rubber pellets settled, the Red Wolves had somehow managed a victory over the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.

Everybody seemed to be in on the crime. Layne Hatcher tossed a pair of picks, one to a defensive back who was all by his lonesome. Special teams contributed a fumble – adding to the four offered by the offense. The defense, made even more shorthanded by Darrean Jackson’s ejection following two unsportsmanlike penalties, carried the team as best they could, making big plays that included a pair of picks, one for a score. It wasn’t enough to lose, however.

With less than 3:00 on the clock, the Chants took a 27-21 lead after collecting another turnover. But the Red Wolves’ 2-minutes offense resulted in a Layne Hatcher to Kirk Merritt score with only half a minute remaining. The defense shut the lid on the game 15 seconds later, securing another year of bowl eligibility for Arkansas State.

A-State’s Omar Bayless chipped in 102 yards and a TD, while CJ Marable for Coastal racked up 142 yards and a score.

A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space. 

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