Tag: Bryce Stephens

Bryce Stephens exits transfer portal, will stay with Arkansas

Bryce Stephens’ removal from the transfer provides Arkansas with even more depth at wideout next year.

The man who saved Arkansas’ proverbial bacon against Bobby Petrino will be back.

Wide receiver/return specialist Bryce Stephens withdrew his name from the NCAA transfer portal on Wednesday, signaling a return to the Razorbacks for the 2024.

Stephens was Arkansas’ primary kick and punt returner two years ago. His 82-yard punt return against Missouri State with less than 10 minutes left allowed the Hogs to overtake the Bears en route to an eventual 38-27 win.

But Stephens lost that gig to Isaiah Sategna in 2023. He also did not factor into the passing game, going from nine catches in 2022 to zero last year. He entered the transfer portal on December 7.

Stephens’ return provides Arkansas with the return of scholarship wide receiver on the roster last year, though wideout Tyrone Broden has not yet officially announced.

Arkansas wide receiver Bryce Stephens enters transfer portal

Arkansas likely would not have beaten Bobby Petrino and Missouri State without Bryce Stephens.

Bryce Stephens may not have had a significant role on the Arkansas football team in 2023, but he will always hold a place in Razorbacks’ memories.

The sophomore wide receiver/punt returner entered the transfer portal Thursday after appearing in only three games for the Hogs in the fall.

” I would like to thank the most high for letting me play the game I love,” Stephens wrote in his announcement. Coach Pittman, coach Guiton and the rest of the coaching staff for pushing me to be the best version of myself that I can be.”

Stephens, however, made perhaps the biggest play of Arkansas’ 2022 season. With the Razorbacks trailing in the fourth quarter against Bobby Petrino’s FCS Missouri State team, Stephens returned a punt 82 yards to the end zone to provide Arkansas its go-ahead score.

Isaiah Sategna took over punt-return for duties for the Razorbacks in 2023 and Stephens did not end up registering any statistics during the season. The year before, he had nine catches for 109 yards and 13 punt returns for 149 yards and the score.

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 thatā€™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 letā€™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.

Arkansas football: What can we expect from the special teams in 2023?

Can Arkansas’ special teams be better in 2023? Here’s an in-depth look at what to expect from that group next season.

The Arkansas special teams unit has been a bit of a mystery over the last decade. During the early 2010s, fans grew accustomed to having game-changing players like Joe Adams or Dennis Johnson returning punts or kicks while having a reliable kicker like Zach Hocker.

Unfortunately, in recent years it’s been far from what it once was. The Arkansas special teams unit has lacked dynamic playmakers at those positions and consistently fails to execute in that phase of the game.

That has to change in 2023 and if you ask Razorback special teams coach Scott Fountain, the pieces are there to make it happen.

“We certainly have more talent than we’ve ever had on the team since I’ve been here,” said Fountain, speaking to the media on Sunday morning. “In the past we’ve pieced things together at times, and this year I feel like we really got some good players.”

[autotag]Bryce Stephens[/autotag] is back and will most likely handle the punt return responsibilities after a solid 2022 season. Stephens finished with 149 return yards and one touchdown – the one touchdown being the incredible 82-yard punt return against Missouri State.

“I feel like punt return, leaving spring, obviously weā€™ve got Bryce Stephens,” Fountain said. “Jaylon Braxton is a freshman. I really like him. Heā€™s a very fast kid. A bigger kid. Also, [autotag]Isaiah Sategna[/autotag] as well. I think all three of those guys have a chance for us back there. Weā€™ll just see how it plays out.”

On kick returns, Fountain expects AJ Green to handle those duties, as he did in 2022, but we could see Sategna take on some of that responsibility.

“If you move over to the kick return spot, obviously, we have AJ (Green) back, but I really likeĀ Isaiah Sategna, as well,” Fountain said. “He was a very good returner in high school.”

“We’ve done a lot of studying on KOR this offseason, and we’d like to be more productive there with the opportunities we get. We’d like to take a few more opportunities than what we have done in the past. You can sit back there and fair catch them all day with that rule, but we feel like we have some guys that have a chance to change the game.”

On the flip side of that, Cam Little is back to handle field goal duties. After earning Freshman All-SEC honors in 2021, he went 13-16 on field goals and was perfect on extra points in 2022. One of those three missed field goals was a potential game-winner against Texas A&M. However, Little bounced back following that miss and Fountain took notice

“What I like about Cam is last year we missed the field goal down at Texas A&M and he came right back and made six or seven field goals in a row,” said Fountain. “That’s what he brings to the table. He’s a very strong-minded young man.”

We could see Little handle the kickoff responsibilities as he’s in a battle with Devin Bale and Blake Ford for that job.

The only other question on special teams is at punter. Sophomore Max Fletcher will be the punter after having a very tough freshman season. Fountain says that he’s very happy with the progress Fletcher has made over the summer.

“He had a really good spring and really good summer. We do a lot of charting in the summer as well, and I was really proud of him there,” Fountain said. “Today was our first day to punt live. I think out of his three punts, he hit what I’d call an A-ball. The second was a B-ball. So, two of the three were pretty decent balls. I think he’s headed in the right direction.”

For the Razorbacks to take another step forward as a team this season, the special teams will need to execute at a much higher level. Things look to be headed in that direction, but we will find out firsthand on Sept. 2 when the open the season against Western Carolina.

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Arkansas Football Offseason Depth Chart – Special Teams

Cam Little is one of the SEC’s best kickers. Bryce Stephens the same as punt returner. But the rest of special teams? To be determined.

The game of football has changed so much in the last 10 years, nevermind the last 25, that special teams simply don’t have as large an impact as it used to in the sport.

That isn’t to say punters and kickers aren’t relevant. But with the kickoff on the perpetual chopping block seemingly every offseason and coaches taking fewer and fewer chances with returning kicks and punts, the days of a game-breaking playmaker in the back are few.

The best ones, though, can still alter things. That’s especially true with the positions where the foot touches the ball. The foot ball. Football.

Anyway, at Arkansas, the Razorbacks are in good shape at kicker and appear to be solid at punt returner, too. But elsewhere? Let’s see how the Hogs are looking on special teams this summer.

Arkansas comeback win against Missouri State is a positive, not a negative

Arkansas was tested. They passed. That can only help things going forward.

What was supposed to be a hostile environment for Bobby Petrino turned into a coming-out party for his Missouri State Bears.

The Hogs still came out on top 38-27, but they trailed for most of the game. Arkansas trailed for three straight quarters before completing a 21-point fourth quarter that kept their undefeated record going.

Also, this is the third consecutive game against Missouri State where the Hogs scored a touchdown from specials teams.

It was hard not to be impressed with the Bears. They pushed the Hogs to the limit with big plays on both sides of the ball. The forced fumble at the goal line, Jason Shelley’s spin cycle rushing touchdown, and the touchdown on 4th-and-1 in the second half. The FCS world was put on notice with this performance.

And we have to give credit to Petrino. He made sure the Bears were ready.

While it may not seem like it, this is a positive for the Hogs. Missouri State controlled the time of possession by 12 minutes which was a first for the Razorbacks. Arkansas was forced to use a limited amount of possessions, which could be a problem for this pro-style offense.

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Twitter reacts to Arkansas’ come-from-behind win over Missouri State

It was a wild one, but the Hogs pulled it out. Here are the best reactions to the win from social media.

Wow, what a wild one that turned out to be.

It took all four quarters for No. 10 Arkansas to pull away, but they were able to score twice over the final ten minutes of the game to avoid a scare, defeating Missouri State, 38-27 on Saturday night.

Arkansas (3-0, 1-0 SEC) trailed 17-0 at the 10:36 mark in the 2nd quarter, which put a scare into the Razorback fanbase. Arkansas chipped away, and ultimately fought back in the late stages of the 3rd quarter to tie the game at 17-17. Missouri State answered [autotag]Cam Little[/autotag]’s game-tying field goal with a 47-yard touchdown pass five plays later and extended their lead back to ten points on a field goal with 12:04 remaining in the game.

The Razorbacks would go on to score three touchdowns over the next 11:38 to pull away. A 78-yard rush by [autotag]Raheim Sanders[/autotag] and an 82-yard punt return by [autotag]Bryce Stephens[/autotag] headlined the comeback.

Arkansas fans shared their feelings about the win on social media. Here are the best reactions to Arkansas’ win over Missouri State:

WATCH: Bryce Stephens ridiculous punt return gives Arkansas late lead

The Razorbacks took their first lead of the night against Missouri State in the fourth quarter.

Not to say we predicted it, but we did.

Bryce Stephens took a Missouri State punt 82 yards with 9:16 left in the fourth quarter and gave Arkansas its first lead of the game, 31-27.

The score came just a handful of plays after Rocket Sanders’ 73-yard touchdown run pulled the Hogs within three points.

Arkansas trailed 17-0 before tying things at 17 in the third quarter. Missouri State countered with scores on back-to-back drives to take a 10-point lead.

Stephens and Sanders evaporated it in 2 minutes, 22 seconds.

The Razorbacks haven’t lost to an FCS, formerly Division I-AA, opponent since 1992. Coach Jack Crowe was fired before the next game.