Tag: Dalton Wagner

Flashback: Arkansas Football’s Class of 2017

Looking back on the 2017 recruiting class is tough. It’s easy to see why this would be Bret Bielema’s final one at Arkansas.

The worst stretch in [autotag]Arkansas football[/autotag]’s history began in 2017.

[autotag]Bret Bielema[/autotag] was let go following an extremely disappointing 2017 season where he went 4-8 overall. Before the season, everyone knew it was a make-or-break year and the pressure was on.

Looking back at the recruiting class from that time, and it’s very easy to see where things went wrong. Across the board, Arkansas was struggling to recruit quality depth to replace production from the previous year. They also didn’t have enough depth to account for injuries at key positions – a recipe for disaster.

The 2017 recruiting class is a prime example, as only three of the 24 enrollees from this cycle would go on to have success while in Fayetteville. Let’s take a look back at the top contributors from Bielema’s final recruiting haul as Arkansas head coach.

Dalton Wagner’s WWE career will wait for now

Per reports, Wagner’s $225k contract is the most the Raiders offered any of their free agents.

Former Arkansas offensive tackle Dalton Wagner made some news in December 2021 when he was tabbed as potential WWE star.

That will be on hold for now.

Wagner signed a free-agent deal with the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday. He signed for a guaranteed $225,000, making him the highest-paid of the Raiders’ nondrafted signees. And it’s a solid sign Las Vegas thinks Wagner could make the regular-season roster.

Wagner started all four seasons at Arkansas and at 6-foot-8, 320 pounds, he has the prototypical size for the position in the pros (wrestling, too, incidentally).

The Illinois native allowed just two sacks last year – both against Alabama – and only 11 during his four seasons as starter. The season saw him named first-team All-SEC by Pro Football Focus.

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Arkansas football: 14 Razorbacks set to participate in Pro Day on Wednesday

Here’s a look at the 14 former Hogs who will participate in Arkansas’ Pro Day on Wednesday. Some names might surprise Razorback fans.

NFL scouts from all 32 teams will be present in Fayetteville on Wednesday as the Arkansas Razorbacks will host their official Pro Day.

There are 14 former Razorbacks officially set to participate including five who took part in the NFL Combine nearly a month ago. Those five include wide receivers [autotag]Jadon Haselwood[/autotag] and [autotag]Matt Landers[/autotag], offensive linemen [autotag]Ricky Stromberg[/autotag] and [autotag]Dalton Wagner[/autotag] and linebacker [autotag]Drew Sanders[/autotag].

A handful of Razorbacks from years past will also be in attendance to workout in front of pro scouts. That group includes linebacker Martrell Spaight, defensive lineman Bijhon Jackson, wide receiver Tyson Morris and long snapper Jordan Silver.

Things are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Here’s a quick rundown of all 14 Razorbacks that will be participating.

Arkansas WR Matt Landers impresses scouts at 2023 NFL Combine

Arkansas WR Matt Landers turned some heads at the 2023 NFL Combine. Here’s all of his official results from this weekend.

The 2023 NFL Combine took place over the weekend in Indianapolis and five former Arkansas Razorbacks were in attendance.

Linebacker [autotag]Drew Sanders[/autotag], wide receivers [autotag]Jadon Haselwood[/autotag] and [autotag]Matt Landers[/autotag] and offensive linemen [autotag]Dalton Wagner[/autotag] and [autotag]Ricky Stromberg[/autotag] all participated in drills over the weekend in front of scouts from all 32 NFL teams.

Matt Landers was projected to be a mid-to-late round pick in April’s draft after his lone season at Arkansas, but after this weekend he may have helped his draft stock. Landers turned heads by running the third-fastest 40-yard dash time among wide receivers. He even got a shoutout from the NFL’s official Twitter account after his second attempt.

In his only season with the Razorbacks, Landers became a favorite target for quarterback [autotag]KJ Jefferson[/autotag] and finished the year with 47 receptions for 901 yards and eight touchdowns. With his 6-foot-4 frame and blazing quick speed, it’s hard to see a team not taking a chance on Landers much earlier than expected.

Here’s all of his official results from the 2023 NFL Combine over the weekend. NOTE: Landers did not participate in the 3-cone drill, 20-yard shuttle or bench press

For Pittman and Jefferson, Saturday’s game at Auburn will be ‘personal’

Arkansas has not beaten Auburn in football since 2015. They hope to change the narrative on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Let us begin this article by stepping back in time.

The year is 2015, the setting is Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Auburn kicker Daniel Carlson boots a 41-yard field goal with 0:04 remaining in regulation to tie Arkansas at 24-24, sending the game to overtime.

Auburn and Arkansas would trade touchdowns through three overtimes, but the Razorbacks ultimately prevailed thanks to a 25-yard pass from [autotag]Brandon Allen[/autotag] to [autotag]Cole Kelly[/autotag] on the first play of the 4th overtime, beating Auburn, 54-46.

That would mark the last time that Arkansas has beaten Auburn in the sport of football.

Arkansas head coach [autotag]Sam Pittman[/autotag], as well as Razorback quarterback [autotag]K.J. Jefferson[/autotag] hope to change the course of the annual series on Saturday, by winning their first game over the Tigers in six years and grabbing their first win at Jordan-Hare Stadium since 2012.

Pittman has done great things at Arkansas in his three-year tenure. He led them to nine wins and a bowl win over Penn State in his second season. Before that, Arkansas had not won a bowl game since the 2015 season and had not won more than eight games since 2011.

One thing he has not done, however, is beat Auburn. He says that he has gotten a sense at practice this week that playing Auburn is “personal” to his players.

“We’ve got to win,” Pittman said during his Wednesday press conference. “It’s going to be very difficult but, to answer your question, I do feel at practice that we understand that Auburn has embarrassed us six years in a row and we would like not to make it the seventh. But we’ve got to go play well.”

Pittman says that he feels the need to win from players such as offensive lineman [autotag]Dalton Wagner[/autotag], who has been on the Razorbacks roster for six years, and for KJ Jefferson, who is looking to avenge last season’s loss after completing just 21-of-35 passes in last season’s loss to Auburn.

Not only does Jefferson want to lead his program to their first win over Auburn since 2015, but the 2020 game is still fresh on his mind.

“I mean, we know what happened when we went down there,” Jefferson said. “So, I mean, everybody has the memory still in the back of their heads. So, this week, it’s more personal than anything. We’re taking it as a challenge. More personally, try not to leave the game to the ref’s hands. So, we just want to come out and dominate and play our brand of football.”

The Razorbacks and Tigers are set to meet for the 31st time in history on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT.

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Arkansas captains are not just studs, but true leaders

KJ Jefferson, Dalton Wagner, Jalen Catalon and Bumper Pool are the Arkansas captains.

Jalen Catalon might be the safety in the country.

KJ Jefferson is the most underrated quarterback in the SEC.

Bumper Pool is one of the best tacklers in the country.

Dalton Wagner is so big, bad and athletic, the WWE wants him when his college football career is over.

The quartet aren’t just Arkansas’ batch of top players, they’re also now the Razorbacks captains for the 2022 football season. The team announced them as such on Tuesday.

Catalon, a junior safety, was a Freshman All-American two seasons before injuries sapped him of half his sophomore season last year. He’s still a projected first-round pick.

Pool was a second-team All-SEC selection this preseason. The senior’s 125 tackles led the team and were good for the 10th highest mark in the country.

Wagner is a three-year starter for the Razorbacks at right tackle. He was considered a possible option to flip to the left to replace Myron Cunningham, but he’s too good on the right to move.

Jefferson is a darkhorse Heisman Trophy contender after throwing for 21 touchdowns against just four interceptions to go along with more 2,600 yards passing. He ran for another 664 yards with six touchdowns.

The captains were chosen by their teammates.

Seven Razorbacks earn spot on Senior Bowl watchlist

The eyes of Senior Bowl scouts will be upon these seven Razorbacks this upcoming season.

The latest watchlist for the Reese’s Senior Bowl has been released, and Arkansas is well represented.

Seven players were named to the watchlist: Safeties [autotag]Simeon Blair[/autotag] and [autotag]Latavious Brini[/autotag], EDGE [autotag]Zach Williams[/autotag], LB [autotag]Bumper Pool[/autotag], TE [autotag]Trey Knox[/autotag], and linemen [autotag]Ricky Stromberg[/autotag] and [autotag]Dalton Wagner[/autotag].

According to the Senior Bowl’s website, the Senior Bowl scouting team has been working since last February to identify the “best of the best” draft prospects at every level of college football for the 2023 NFL Draft.  All 484 position players (non-specialists) who made the list were evaluated by our staff and tape-based grades were logged on hundreds of other senior prospects.  Every player on this list is eligible to participate in an all-star game as either a 2018 high school graduate or true four-year player (with five or more games played in three previous seasons).  This list does not include many true or redshirt juniors who could become eligible as December 2022 (or earlier) graduates.

Arkansas had two representatives on last season’s roster, OL John Ridgeway and long snapper Jordan Silver. Ridgeway would go on to be drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

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Ty’Kieast Crawford looks like the future of the offensive line

Even at 360ish pounds, Arkansas offensive lineman Ty’Kieast Crawford is all athlete.

Ty’Kieast Crawford has a little old-school and a little new-school to him.

At 6-foot-5 and 347 pounds, Crawford, a junior on the Arkansas offensive line, doesn’t quite stake claim to being the biggest player on the Hogs front, but he’s not far from it. The era of size-over-all on football offensive lines has passed a bit as teams shifted more to the run-pass-option game, which requires blocker who are fleet of foot.

But don’t think for a second that Crawford can’t move. It’s his footwork that has made him Arkansas’ No. 1 reserve on the line this fall. And not just at one position, but four.

“I can play any position they want me to play,” Crawford said. “‘ll go out there and do it for them,” Crawford said. “I’ll be on any side they want me to. I’m comfortable. I get in there and do my job. Do my assignment. That’s it.”

The Texas native worked his way into a reserve spot last year, but with a couple players ahead of him in the hierarchy, he didn’t see the field often. But as the top back-up this year, he’s likely to get plenty of time. Whether it’s swapping in on series to give guys a break – something that is also more common now than it used to be – or filling in for an injured player, Crawford should have plenty of opportunity to prep himself for a starting role next year.

His teammates know he can do it. Dalton Wagner, a three-year starter at tackle, sees it every day.

“He’s taken a much more veteran mentality approach to this stuff,” Wagner said. “He’s not going into it, I don’t know, not lackadaisical, but he’s going into it with a lot more fire than he had before. And intent. Yeah, that’s a better word for it. Intent. And he’s done a really great job all camp so far.”

Sam Pittman knows a good O-line when he sees it and Arkansas has it

With four starters back, Sam Pittman knows Arkansas has the goods on the offensive line.

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman cut his teeth coaching the hogs, not the Hogs.

Such a resume is ultimately what earned him his first collegiate head coaching gig with the Razorbacks. He was – still is – considered the top offensive line coach in the country.

So when he praises what Arkansas has up front this year, it’s less like a coach simply being proud of his team or overstating their skill. Instead, it’s legit.

“Four of the five (starters) are coming back with all the running backs, and of course the No. 1 rusher we had was KJ Jefferson,” Pittman said. “They excite the heck out of me. They’ve got a great coach in Cody Kennedy.”

It’s that offensive line, Jefferson and the stable of running backs Arkansas has that makes fans and some pundits believe this could be the year the Razorbacks stay up with the nation’s elite.

Arkansas went 9-4 last year, capping the season with a win over Penn State in the Outback Bowl. It was the best year the Hogs have had since 2011.

Center Ricky Stromberg, guards Brady Latham and Beaux Limmer and tackle Dalton Wagner all return to block for an Arkansas running game that was first in the SEC last year.

Next Hogs Up: Projecting Arkansas’ depth chart in 2022 – offensive line

With four starters back, Arkansas’ offensive line should be a strength in 2022.

Arkansas football has not been where it stands now in a decade. Freshmen who will join the team the next time the Razorbacks play a regular-season game would have been in kindergarten, or younger, the last time Arkansas was a national power.

The Hogs, regardless of the outcome in the Outback Bowl on January 1, have had a season that exceeded even the homers’ expectations. How much it continues into 2022 depends on a number of factors, including potential player and coach exits in the offseason.

For now, we don’t want to focus on such matters. Instead, let’s consider the players who are assured to be back, barring catastrophe.

In this series, Next Hogs Up, we take a shot at projecting Arkansas’ depth chart, position by position for the 2022 season. Take note, however, as certain positions will be kept broad, as opposed to specific. And we’re skipping quarterback because it’s KJ Jefferson No. 1 and Malik Hornsby No. 2 and there is no doubt about it.

We started with running backs earlier and tackled wide receivers after Treylon Burks announced his entry into the NFL draft. Friday, we had looked at tight ends. Now, let’s take a look at the positional unit coach Sam Pittman is famous for molding: offensive line.

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