Tag: Hudson Henry

Arkansas depth chart: Expect the best season from Arkansas tight ends in a long time

Arkansas has both natural pass-catchers and natural blockers at the tight end spot this year.

Tight end has been a staple position at Arkansas for the better part of the last 20 years.

Hunter Henry and DJ Williams were naturals for the spot as soon as they arrived in Fayetteville. Others were converts. AJ Derby. Chris Gragg.

In 2022, Arkansas will have both at the top of its depth chart as the Razorbacks look to return to the position to its pass-catching glory of the last decade.

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman and tight ends coach Dowell Loggains aren’t short on bodies. The Hogs are loaded with potential both young and old at the unit and given the changes some of the returners made, it could be group’s most successful season in the last several.

This is how the tight end hierarchy shakes out this season.

Hogs football adds three walk-ons to scholarship

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman gave scholarships to a tight end, linebacker and wide receiver on Thursday.

Arkansas football still plans to bring in three more players to the team via transfer this offseason. That’s even after the Razorbacks added three walk-ons to scholarship on Thursday.

Tight end Nathan Bax, linebacker Jackson Woodard and wide receiver Harper Cole were all added to scholarship status this week. They are the 84th, 85th and 86th scholarship players on the roster, which is one over the 85-mark limit. The players do not, however, count against the recruiting class, which still has three open spots.

All three players saw time on special teams last year. Bax is vying to be the team’s third tight end this season behind [autotag]Trey Knox[/autotag] and [autotag]Hudson Henry[/autotag]. Woodard is attempting to crack the two-deep at linebacker. Cole’s primary focus is special teams.

Arkansas finished spring camp a week ago and the Hogs open the season Sept. 3 against Cincinnati.

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Tight ends getting deeper while Trey Knox is out with concussion

Arkansas doesn’t use the tight end as much as it used to, but the group looks like it could make a huge leap from 2021.

Trey Knox’s return from the doghouse in 2021 was one of the brighter stories for Arkansas football in a season filled with good ones. But he has missed spring ball as he recovers from a concussion he suffered in a car wreck.

Knox is recovering from the injury and coach Sam Pittman expects him to healthy come the fall. In the meantime, his absence has given more opportunity for the tight end group.

Junior [autotag]Hudson Henry[/autotag] is the most experienced of the corps and after he was in and out of the lineup last year dealing an injury of his own, the spring has offered him a chance to get back to what made him one of the most highly touted tight ends in the country coming out of high school.

Behind him is junior [autotag]Nathan Bax[/autotag], a transfer from Illinois State who is now in his third year in the program. He has impressed offensive coordinator [autotag]Kendal Briles[/autotag].

“He’s played with our ones a bunch and he’s been one of those guys that if guys were to get injured in practice, you’d plug him in and you really don’t miss a beat. He doesn’t look flashy or look like he’s a great player, but he doesn’t mess things up either,” Briles said.

Arkansas’ offensive isn’t one geared to using the tight end as often as some of the offenses have in the last 10 years. But Knox still had 20 grabs last year at a spot at which he was unfamiliar before the season began.

[autotag]Tyrus Washington[/autotag] has been the most impressive freshman of the three on the roster so far this spring, Briles suggested.

“We’ve got maybe seven guys that are all mid-terms that have come in and it’s great to have all those guys at practice.”

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Finally healthy, Hudson Henry ready to make impact he and everyone else hoped in 2021

Arkansas tight end Hudson Henry is finally getting healthy and that’s dangerous for Hogs opponents.

Before the season began, Arkansas coach Sam Pittman knew his tight end room needed more depth. Starter Blake Kern was a known commodity and back-up Hudson Henry had established himself, too. After that, though, it was anyone’s game.

Seven games into the season and Pittman was right, except the group is even thinner than Arkansas had imagined.

Kern has struggled to repeat last year’s 20-catch, solid-blocking season as he has only six catches for 77 yards more than halfway through the season. Henry had barely seen the field until last week against Auburn. Injuries, a bunch of them, had stalled his progress. Things were so sparse at the spot, former wide receiver Trey Knox, who is listed at 215 pounds, shifted from his spot there to tight end.

Now, though, finally, some semblance of stability appears on the horizon. Kern had a solid catch-and-run against the Tigers. Knox grabbed a touchdown pass against Ole Miss. And Henry, for the first time in 2021, played reps that suggest his injury troubles may be a thing of the past.

“I was proud of him,” Pittman said. “He made plays, he was physical. He’s done that in practice. He’s certainly in the plans for this week and the future. I’m glad to see that he’s finally healthy again.”

Henry looked like a potential future star last year as a freshman, grabbing 16 passes and a touchdown. His absence as a sophomore, however, has blunted an Arkansas offense that, despite flashes of brilliance, could use another outlet.

Maybe it’s coming now with the youngest of the Henry trio of brothers to suit up for the Hogs.

“Football is football. Injuries happen,” Henry said. “You get beat up and you’re not able to play as well as you can. So, this past week it felt really good to get some confidence back and be able to get back in there and help the team out.”

This one area is about the only place where Arkansas has not improved in 2021

The lowest catch total for any Arkansas tight end in the last decade-plus is 21. Blake Kern has just five receptions in five games so far, leading the Hogs.

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Arkansas football in 2021 is unquestionably better than it was in 2020.

One place where the Razorbacks are not as good, though, is at a position of usual strength for the team.

Arkansas tight ends have total of five catches for 61 yards in five games this season. All five grabs belong to Blake Kern.

It’s a modest concern, even as the Razorbacks sit at 4-1 overall. Kern and Hudson Henry combined for 36 catches and 296 yards and three touchdowns last year. The fewest catches any individual tight end has had at Arkansas in the last 12 years is 21. That was in 2017 when Cheyenne O’Grady set that mark.

But even then Arkansas had Austin Cantrell (13 catches) and Jeremy Patton (11 catches).

One reason for the low numbers this year? Henry. It isn’t his fault whatsoever as he’s been hurt. But not having him has limited quarterback KJ Jefferson’s options in his first year as a full-time starter. Tight ends have often served as safety valves in the Hogs offenses of years past.

Coach Sam Pittman is hoping Henry is finally getting healthy now.

“He’s got talent. He’s been beat up all year. It’s just been a bad year to this point,” Pittman said. You’re not even halfway through the season, so I anticipate that he’ll come on. He’s practiced, a little beat up this week but hopefully he’ll be ready by Saturday.”

Kern has struggled being practically solo at the position in 2021. He has a couple of drops and has committed more penalties than Pittman and tight ends coach Dowell Loggains are comfortable with. Arkansas needed more bodies at the spot, too, so the offense moved former wide receiver Trey Knox over a few weeks ago. Knox has seen a bit of time in recent weeks.

Knox may not bring the blocking ability Kern and Henry bring – and Pittman praised the tight ends’ blocking this season – but he can be a threat running routes. He had 35 career catches, but couldn’t crack the rotation out wide this year or much of last.

“I think Trey Knox could be a really good tight end for us if he can put on 25-30 pounds, which I think he’ll be able to do in the offseason,” Pittman said. “He’s a willing blocker. He’s got good leverage. He’s really good with his hands. And of course we know he would be a fast tight end.”

With Henry potentially back into game shape Saturday and the development of Knox, expect Jefferson and the Hogs look more to the tight end spot starting this weekend against Ole Miss.