Tag: Ty Washington

Arkansas down to third- and fourth-stringers at tight end against Auburn

Things are so slim at the position, Arkansas will have to bring up a walk-on from the scout to fill a hole.

Arkansas had the players, but not the coach for most of the 2023 season. Then, Saturday against Florida, both came.

Now, with Auburn on slate, the fear is that the Razorbacks have the coach, but not the players as injuries stack.

Head coach Sam Pittman said tight end Ty Washington would almost certainly be out for the rest of the season because of a dislocated shoulder. Washington was already filling in for freshman Luke Hasz, whose first year of college football had made him a danger to opposing defenses just a few games in.

“We’re going to move Hunter Talley up (from the scout team),” Pittman said of his depth chart at tight end. “We’ve got some opportunities with Easter and Lassiter. I just think in this short period of time, Hunter Talley knows the offense better than the other fellas do.”

Easter is a four-star freshman from inside the Natural State and Arkansas hopes he develops like Hasz and will provide the Razorbacks a two-headed threat at the position in future years. Talley is a walk-on from Siloam Springs.

Most likely Talley won’t play against Auburn, considering Francis Sherman, Var’keeyes Gumms and Nathan Bax have been ahead of him on the hierarchy this season and have logged time already. But that trio also has limitations, something that shouldn’t be much of a surprise when a team is down to their third- and fourth-string options.

Still, Pittman said Talley will get the go against the Tigers and could surprise.

“He’s really looked good on the scout team, as well, so we’ll move up to be No. 4 there.”

Washington, Jeffcoat headline Arkansas’ Players of the Game vs Ole Miss

The indivdual efforts will be forgotten – even if they shouldn’t be – because of Arkansas’ fourth straight loss.

Arkansas was better than it was against Texas A&M.

Better wasn’t enough.

The Razorbacks fell against No. 16 Ole Miss on Saturday, 27-20, as one big issue continued and countered several good individual efforts for Arkansas.

Quarterback KJ Jefferson did everything he could considering he was sacked five times and Arkansas’ running backs were limited to 25 yards on 12 carries.

Ty Washington was his favorite target as the redshirt freshman tight end caught two touchdown passes.

Cam Little chipped in with a 56-yard field goal, as well.

Defensively, Trajan Jeffcoat looked the part of his All-SEC self from three years ago.

And Jayden Johnson was the first Arkansas player not named Jaheim Thomas to lead the Hogs in tackles in a game.

Those efforts will be largely forgotten because of the loss, but like every week, we name our Arkansas Players of the Game. Check out more details below.

WATCH: Arkansas takes the lead as Jefferson connects with Washington again

KJ Jefferson willing Arkansas to a lead against Ole Miss late.

Ty Washington and KJ Jefferson. Who would have thought that was the duo that would have Arkansas sniffing for an upset against Ole Miss?

Jefferson, the Razorbacks’ quarterback, connected with his redshirt freshman tight end for a fourth-quarter touchdown with 13:11 left to provide Arkansas a 20-17 lead over the Rebels. It was the second time the two hooked up for a score as Arkansas took a 7-0 lead after its first drive.

The Razorbacks’ first three drives of the second half have gone for 31, 37 and 72 yards. Arkansas scored on its second – a 56-yard field goal by Cam Little – and its third to move ahead.

Jefferson has been dynamite, if not electric. The senior quarterback was 23 of 34 passing for 238 yards with the two scores to that point.

Arkansas needed him to be, too, as the Hogs had just 41 yards rushing on 26 carries when it took the lead.

WATCH: Ty Washington shows out as Arkansas opens with lead on Ole Miss

Luke Hasz? Who needs Luke Hasz? Ty Washington filled in nicely for the injured Arkansas tight end as Hogs take lead.

Luke Hasz’s injury suffered in Week 5 against Texas A&M will likely keep him out for the season. Arkansas didn’t need him early against Ole Miss.

Redshirt freshman Ty Washington caught five passes for 56 yards, including a drive-capping three-yard touchdown, on Arkansas’ first drive against the Rebels to provide the Razorbacks a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

Washington leaked out to the left on 3rd-and-goal and KJ Jefferson found him underneath and Washington was barely touched on his way into the end zone. The score was his first of the season as his playing time had been limited when Hasz was healthy.

The biggest play of the drive was provided by him and Jefferson, as well. On 2nd-and-20, Jefferson hit him down the right sideline for a 34-yard gain to get Hogs to the Ole Miss 11. After a penalty, another five yards were tacked on and Arkansas scored three plays later.

Arkansas football: Offseason Depth Chart – Tight Ends

Arkansas’ tight ends are the least experienced group on the roster but have plenty of potential. Here’s how the depth chart looks for 2023.

[autotag]Arkansas football[/autotag]’s least experienced position group entering next season is, by far, tight end.

The tight end room was completely re-tooled in the offseason following Dowell Loggains’ exit to take the offensive coordinator position at South Carolina. Pittman swung for the fences by tabbing former Stanford tight end coach, [autotag]Morgan Turner[/autotag], to replace Loggains.

Turner brings an impressive resume with a proven track record of developing NFL-level tight ends, but will have quite the task in his first season at Arkansas.

The Razorbacks lost veteran tight end Trey Knox, who decided to follow Loggains to South Carolina following an impressive 2022 campaign. Without Knox, the Arkansas tight end room is short on experience. Turner will need to rely on a handful of talented, but severely inexperienced, guys in his first season with the Hogs.

Here’s what Arkansas’ tight end depth chart is looking like as we head into next season.

Var’Keyes Gumms de-commits from Arkansas football

Talented transfer tight end Var’Keyes Gumms has de-committed from Arkansas after choosing the Razorbacks nine days ago.

Sam Pittman and Arkansas football have lost their first transfer commitment of this off-season.

Talented North Texas transfer [autotag]Var’Keyes Gumms[/autotag] has officially de-committed from the Razorbacks, according to Chris Hummer of 247Sports.com. Gumms had previously chosen the Razorbacks over a plethora of interested schools on April 23.

Gumms was rated as a four-star transfer after an extremely successful first season at North Texas. He hauled in 34 catches for 458 yards and five touchdowns on his way to first team All-Conference-USA and second team Conference-USA All-Freshman honors.

With Gumms’ de-commitment Arkansas is back to having seven available scholarships to use for next year’s roster. Unless the Razorbacks add another tight end to the roster, it will be up to true freshmen [autotag]Luke Hasz[/autotag] and [autotag]Shamar Easter[/autotag] or redshirt freshman [autotag]Ty Washington[/autotag] to carry the load.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=128]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01fc3h383th881vsf1 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

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.