Tag: Andrew Armstrong

Watch: KJ Jefferson finds Andrew Armstrong for a second touchdown against Kent State

Arkansas opened a big lead in the fourth quarter when Jefferson and Armstrong scored for a second time.

Arkansas’ season is just two games old, but Andrew Armstrong looks like he’s wide receiver No. 1 for the Razorbacks.

A week after leading Arkansas with five catches and 78 yards with a touchdown, Armstrong was the Hogs’ leader again through more than three quarters in Week 2 against Kent State.

Quarterback KJ Jefferson found him for the second time in the end zone early in the fourth quarter to lift Arkansas’ lead to 22 points, 28-6.

On 2nd-and-7 from the Kent State 9, Jefferson rolled to his left and connected with a cutting Armstrong going the same direction . The FCS transfer hauled in his fourth catch and second touchdown of the game.

The quarterback and wideout opened Arkansas’ offensive scoring just before halftime to provide the Razorbacks with a 14-6 lead going into the locker room.

Arkansas Preseason Depth Chart – Wide Receiver

The Hogs should have six regulars in the rotation, but guys like Davion Dozier could crack it.

The last time we took a look at Arkansas’ wide receiver depth chart was in June, after spring camp had concluded. Now, with just over a week before the team’s 2023 opener, let’s see what – if anything – has changed.

The Razorbacks open the season Saturday against FCS Western Carolina in Little Rock. Quarterback KJ Jefferson is back and with plenty of experience as one of the best in the SEC. But his receiving corps is almost entirely new.

Coach Sam Pittman brought in a top-25 transfer portal class, some of whom are finding themselves as Jefferson favorites in August. In fact, expect three of the team’s top four wideouts during the season – at least the early part of the season – to include those new guys.

But which ones and where exactly do we think they’ll slot? Let’s take a look at our projected wide receiver depth chart.

Which receiver can emerge as KJ Jefferson’s favorite target in 2023?

The Hogs have a lot of fresh faces in the receiving room, so who can become “the guy” this season? Let’s take a closer look at the best candidates.

[autotag]Kenny Guiton[/autotag] had a tough challenge ahead of him following the 2022 season.

Entering his third year as wide receivers coach in Fayetteville, he was going to have to replace 72.5% of the team’s total receiving production from the prior year.

Matt Landers, Jadon Haselwood and Trey Knox? All gone.

Guiton knew he needed to go out and get some weapons for returning quarterback [autotag]KJ Jefferson[/autotag], and he was able to do just that. Isaac Teslaa, Andrew Armstong and Tyrone Broden all chose to come to Fayetteville over other SEC schools.

The reason? Guiton says that was simple.

“Look at the room. Any starters coming back? Really no seniority. Nobody in the room that’s caught any balls yet in live action,” Guiton told the media earlier this week. “So I wanted some guys with college experience, make the room competitive and let’s go from there.”

So far this offseason, the room has been extremely competitive. As a result, Jefferson will have plenty of talented pass catchers to throw to this year. Though the question remains, which receiver can emerge as the go-to option in Arkansas’ passing attack this season?

Let’s take a look at the most likely candidates.

Recruiting guru Guiton revamps Hogs’ receiving corps

Arkansas receivers coach Kenny Guiton is proving to be an outstanding recruiter, bringing in talented new faces to fill some voids.

With the departure of Arkansas’ four top receiving targets from a year ago, the Razorbacks went into the offseason with a definite need to fill the void.

To the rescue was receivers coach and emerging recruiting guru Kenny Guiton, who proceeded to land three coveted replacements.

Gone are wideouts Matt Landers (47 catches, 901 yards and 8 TDs), Jadon Haselwood (59, 702, 3), and Ketron Jackson Jr. (16, 277, 3) and tight end Trey Knox (26, 296, 5). Landers and Haselwood opted to turn pro, while Jackson and Knox chose to transfer. The primary back-up Warren Thompson (12, 178, 2) also decided to leave the program.

Guiton proceeded to out-recruit a number of Power 5 programs to bring in a trio of highly touted transfers: Andrew Armstrong (62, 1,020, 13) from Texas A&M-Commerce, Isaac TeSlaa (68, 1,325, 13) from Hillside College and Tyrone Broden (32, 506, 7) from Bowling Green. The three should be an immediate welcome addition for senior quarterback KJ Jefferson and new offensive coordinator Dan Enos’s pro-style offense.

Guiton, a former quarterback at Ohio State, worked his magic last season, bringing in a pair of transfers that quickly blossomed – Landers and Haselwood.

Along with another Guiton recruit, freshman Isaiah Sategna, the reworked receiving corps looks to pose a definite threat to opposing secondaries. The speedy Sategna had two impressive TD catches in last spring’s Red-White Game.

Despite having a group that lacks playing experience in the SEC, Guiton is confident that he has the right mix of talent to support a stellar Razorback passing game this season.

“The further and further you go, the more ease you start to get,” he said after the fifth practice of the fall. “I don’t know if I will ever be fully eased until we win some games. But right now, I’m feeling good. I love the competitive nature in our room. You can tell everything is up for grabs.”

With 20 practices remaining before the season opener against Western Carolina in Little Rock, Guiton will just let everything sort itself out.

“We have plenty of guys competing their butts off, in order to be one of those three starters, but they also know when your time comes to shine, you better be ready for it.”

Wide receiver room is hungry to prove a point

Arkansas’ wide receiver room is full of talent, it’s just unproven. Luckily they have a veteran quarterback getting them the ball.

It’s arguable, but probably the most unproven position group going into Arkansas’ fall camp are the wide receivers.

Matt Landers? Gone.

Jadon Haselwood? Gone.

Ketron Jackson? Gone.

Warren Thompson? Gone.

Only Jaedon Wilson, Bryce Stephens, Isaiah Sategna and Sam Mbake return from last year’s crew, and got minimal snaps, mainly in blowouts and the bowl game.

Arkansas did reload with talent there, however. They added Andrew Armstrong and Isaac TeSlaa from Division II schools and also added Davion Dozier as a true freshman along with a few portal guys like Tyrone Broden from Bowling Green and Marlon Crockett from Memphis.

“It’s kind of neat to bring a couple of guys from DII ball,” Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said. “Here comes Armstrong, he’s fast and big. He had made a catch from KJ in the two-minute drill and KJ really believes in him and those things. You’ve got him and TeSlaa.”

Sategna was also impressive to Pittman on day one.

“Today I was excited about (him),” Pittman said. “He did some things today, part of it was his blocking. But with Wilson, Mbake, and those guys, I feel like we’re going to have a nice receiving corps.”

Wilson understands the system, especially with the reps he got in bowl preparation and in the Liberty Bowl itself.

But other guys weren’t so lucky.

“I wasn’t too concerned about (Wilson),” Pittman said. “He showed up today, he showed up all summer. (Tyrone) Broden was the one where he doesn’t understand our system, doesn’t understand the offensive system, that I felt like got hurt in the spring because of that. As far as I know watching the tape, I know he made a few catches today and did some good things.”

Can KJ Jefferson turn Andrew Armstrong into an All-SEC receiver?

The stars are aligned for the Razorbacks to have their first 1,000-yard receiver since Treylon Burks, and transfer Andrew Armstong is a prime candidate to accomplish that.

The last time Arkansas had a 1,000-yard receiver was just two years ago when Treylon Burks finished with 1,104 yards in 2021. But before that? It’s been a while.

Stars are aligned for the Razorbacks to have their another 1,000-yard receiver this season with a returning [autotag]KJ Jefferson[/autotag], and transfer Andrew Armstong is a prime candidate to be the one who accomplishes it.

Armstrong’s stock has risen since stepping onto campus. The big-play receiver made a name for himself at Texas A&M Commerce, scoring 13 touchdowns. Armstrong’s production led him to be one of the most sought-after transfers in the country, and [autotag]Sam Pittman[/autotag] landed the big catch.

What has to happen for [autotag]Andrew Armstrong[/autotag] to be one of the league’s best wideouts? Getting him the ball, of course.

Last season we saw how KJ Jefferson tried to find his number-one target. Everyone thought it would be Oklahoma transfer Jadon Haselwood, but Haselwood started off slow. Matt Landers ended up leading the team in receiving, averaging 19 yards per catch, thanks to deep ball connections from Jefferson.

With Armstrong’s length and knack for the end zone, he could have that same connection with Jefferson. The offense is expected to be more wide-open, and the 6’4” frame of Armstrong will surely be used for downfield play calling.

Armstrong’s chances of being all-conference depend on his connection with Jefferson. If the two can duplicate the big play production Landers and Jefferson had, we could see the another 1,000 yard receiver in Fayetteville this year.

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Arkansas football: Offseason depth chart – wide receivers

Wide receiver is the biggest question mark on the Arkansas football roster. But it could also be the biggest breakout unit.

No position on the Arkansas football roster is a bigger question mark heading into the 2023 season than wide receiver.

And don’t take “question mark” to be a negative. It’s just that. A question. The group returns a grand total of 14 receptions as Razorbacks last year. But don’t mistake the lack of experience at Arkansas as a lack of experience at all. Or talent.

Between Isaac TeSlaa, Andrew Armstrong and Tyrone Broden, the Razorbacks’ top three projected wideouts have all played college ball before. TeSlaa played at the Division II level, Armstrong at FCS and Broden in Mid-American Conference.

Among returners, Isaiah Sategna, Jaedon Wilson and Bryce Stephens look to make the biggest impact.

But keep in mind, it’s June. The order below is just a projection. In June. With all the inexperience, plenty could change between now and September.

In the meantime, you can check our quarterbacks here and our running backs here.

Which transfers are expected to start for Razorbacks?

Which offensive transfer additions on the offensive side of the ball are expected to start for the Razorbacks in 2023?

Arkansas will be impacted by transfer additions at every offensive position group except for running back in 2023, a position where the Razorbacks return 99.6 percent of the productivity from the 2022 season.

Arkansas is losing their top three wide receivers from last season – Jadon Haselwood and Matt Landers declared for the NFL Draft, while Ketron Jackson transferred to Baylor.

The group amassed a total of 134 receptions, 2,058 yards, and 16 touchdowns. This accounts for 58 percent of the receptions, 67 percent of the yardage, and 62 percent of the touchdown catches from the previous year.

Seven of the 18 transfers who are now enrolled or enrolling at Arkansas are offensive players.

Arkansas’ potential No. 1 wideout learning to make the jump to DI football

Andrew Armstrong didn’t work out at Texas A&M-Commerce like he’s working out at Arkansas.

It’s a safe bet that Texas A&M-Commerce’s offseason program isn’t quite as hardcore as Arkansas’.

New Razorbacks wide receiver Andrew Armstrong is discovering that first-hand. After gaining more than 1,000 yards receiving and scoring 13 touchdowns last year at the FCS level with Commerce, plenty of FBS teams came calling when Armstrong hit the transfer portal.

Arkansas lost its top four receivers, too, so the Hogs were a fit in multiple ways for Armstrong, who said he’s glad to have the spring to get used to things at the higher level.

“That first day of workouts it was like, I’ve never felt lightheaded during a workout,” Armstrong said. “Like lifting, we didn’t even run. It was straight lift, and I was in there feeling like I was about to pass out.”

Armstrong joins with Isaac TeSlaa and Tyrone Broden as newcomers from the portal out wide for the Hogs. Alongside side returners Jaedon Wilson, Bryce Stephens, Samuel Mbake and Isaiah Sategna, coach Sam Pittman has plenty of options for rebuilding his receiving corps.

Expect Armstrong to be in that top four.

“That my main thing I’m trying to lock into, the playbook,” he said. “I’m starting to really zone in on it. I’ve been at home every day for like 45 to an hour looking at it every day in my playbook.”

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