Tag: Tyrone Broden

Arkansas wideouts dealing with injury woes heading into Saturday’s spring game

Arkansas’ wide receivers won’t be in full health for the spring game Saturday.

Better now than in September, anyway.

Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman detailed a number of injuries bothering his Razorbacks this week ahead of the team’s spring game on Saturday inside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Arkansas is especially thin at wide receiver, Pittman said, though the bumps and bruises at that position have given the inexperienced players – the Hogs returned every wideout who had a catch last year – some opportunity to make a dent in the depth chart.

“I think maybe the biggest question mark right now is where we’re at wide receiver-wise because we’ve had several injuries,” Pittman said. “We know who we have, we just haven’t seen them I guess in the last couple of days. But some younger guys are moving up the depth chart. It’s given them some opportunities.”

Andrew Armstrong, Arkansas’ leading receiver last year, has been dealing with a hamstring injury since late March. Tyrone Broden, the team’s third-leading receiver, has been out because of family reasons. Jaedon Wilson, who is battling Broden and Isaiah Sategna for the No. 3 receiver spot, is also trying to fight off a hamstring injury. And Davion Dozier, whose spring has impressed, has an injury Pittman thinks is Dozier’s hand.

“He didn’t come back so a lot of times if it’s a hand, that’s not great news but we’ll figure it out,” the Arkansas coach said.

The Razorbacks will play their spring game Saturday with two 15-minute quarters and a normal clock in the first half, have a 10-minute halftime and finish with a running clock for two 10-minute quarters in the second half. Kickoff is a noon and the game will air on SEC Network+.

Arkansas spring football projected depth chart: Wide Recievers

Our spring positional preview for the Arkansas football team continues today with a look at the Razorbacks wide receivers. Everyone – literally – who made a grab for the Hogs last year is back. That should be a good thing, even if Arkansas’ passing …

Our spring positional preview for the Arkansas football team continues today with a look at the Razorbacks wide receivers.

Everyone – literally – who made a grab for the Hogs last year is back. That should be a good thing, even if Arkansas’ passing game struggled. Consistency will go a long way in making the unit better.

It wasn’t as though they were terrible as a group last year. When quarterback KJ Jefferson had time to throw, they made plays, generally. Of course, part of the reason Jefferson took as many sacks as he did was his receivers’ inability to get open often enough, too.

But now that Andrew Armstrong and Isaac TeSlaa have a taste of FBS football and Isaiah Sategna and Tyrone Broden are a year into their Arkansas careers, too, there’s no reason to think of the wide receiving corps as a weakness.

New offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino has no qualms about heaving the football, so regardless of who wins Arkansas’ quarterback job, expect the wideouts’ numbers to go increase.

Here’s a look at how we have the wide receivers stacked heading into the spring.

  • View quarterback preview here
  • View running back preview here

Report: These super seniors are expected to return to Arkansas football in 2024

According to reports, Arkansas football is expected to return these nine super seniors for 2024. Here’s a closer look at each of them.

Arkansas football is expected to return nine super seniors for the 2024 season. Best of Arkansas Sports’ Andrew Hutchinson first broke the news on Thursday Morning.

Of those nine, four are on the offensive side of the ball and five are on the defensive side. For the Razorback offense, wide receivers [autotag]Andrew Armstrong[/autotag], [autotag]Isaac TeSlaa[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyrone Broden[/autotag] are set to return. Offensive lineman [autotag]Ty’Kieast Crawford[/autotag] is also returning to the Hogs.

On the defensive side of the ball, defensive backs [autotag]Hudson Clark[/autotag] and [autotag]Kee’yon Stewart [/autotag]are set to return, as are defensive linemen [autotag]Eric Gregory[/autotag], [autotag]Keivie Rose[/autotag], and [autotag]Jashaud Stewart[/autotag]. It’s worth noting that Stewart is still indefinitely suspended from the program following an arrest in December. Because of this, his status is still technically undecided despite the expectation being that Stewart will return.

There are currently only three super seniors who haven’t announced a decision, but will not be returning to the Hogs in 2024. Offensive lineman Brady Latham has NFL Draft aspirations, while tight end Francis Sherman and defensive tackle Marcus Miller are moving on after each spent one season at Arkansas.

According to Hutchinson, the Razorbacks are at 83 scholarship players for 2024. The roster limit is 85, so there should be more movement as we get closer to spring practices.

For now, let’s take a closer look at the nine super seniors expected to return next season.

Ranking Taylen Green and/or KJ Jefferson’s targets for 2024

Nearly everyone will be back for Arkansas at wide receiver and tight end. Is that a good thing for the Hogs?

This list very well could change by fall camp.

But with a majority of Arkansas’ wide receivers and tight ends having already announced their return from 2023 into 2024, the two primary positions that will line up for passes from KJ Jefferson, Taylen Green or Jacolby Criswell next year for the Razorbacks appear to be the most stable in during the crazy season that is transfer portal time.

Arkansas landed Green, a transfer from Boise State, on Monday evening, providing for some competition under center when the spring rolls around. It remains to be seen if Green’s addition is an indicator of Jefferson’s status. Arkansas’ all-time leading passer was not expected to return to the team in 2024 for a super-senior season, but as each day has passed without his official entry to the portal, the question of that status grows.

But whether it’s Jefferson, Green or Criswell, who played well in garbage-time duty for the Hogs in the fall, throwing passes, the corps catching them is almost all set. Or close to it.

The Razorbacks could land another wideout or two via the portal, but as of now, they have a full complement of players at the spot. And, frankly, it doesn’t look much different than last year’s.

Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing depends on perspective. For now, let’s rank them, regardless of position, when it comes to likelihood they will be big-time targets for whoever is tossing them balls next regular season.

Watch: Jefferson strikes again, connecting with Broden to give Arkansas the lead

Jefferson hit Broden on a slant to boost his all-time touchdown record at Arkansas.

KJ Jefferson isn’t going out softly.

The Arkansas quarterback set the school’s all-time passing touchdown record in the first quarter against Florida International, then he followed it up in the second to give Arkansas the lead.

Jefferson found Tyrone Broden for a four-yard score to cap a 12-play, 75-yard drive that put the Razorbacks ahead, 14-13, with 11:58 left in the quarter. The touchdown pass was Jefferson’s 66th in his career.

To that point, Jefferson was 8 of 13 passing for 87 yards and was responsible for both Arkansas scores.

The Razorbacks have not won at home since Week 2 against Kent State and will finish the season next week, the day after Thanksgiving, against Missouri.

Receiving corps was a bright spot in Baton Rouge

Arkansas caught nearly everything KJ Jefferson threw on Saturday night against No. 12 LSU. It just wasn’t quite enough to pull off the upset.

Arkansas couldn’t have asked much more from its pass catchers on Saturday night in Death Valley.

KJ Jefferson threw the ball 31 times and completed 21 of those passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns.

He was picked off twice (the second was a desperation pass downfield as time expired) but all in all, his receivers did their job.

Andrew Armstrong was targeted by Jefferson six times. He caught all six for 76 yards. Isaac Teslaa was targeted five times and he caught three balls for 31 yards.

Tyrone Broden was targeted six times. He caught three passes for 31 yards and the impressive touchdown in the back of the end zone near the end of the first half.

Luke Hasz and Rashad Dubinion, despite being a tight end and running back, respectively, were targeted by Jefferson ten times and they caught nine of those for 151 yards and Hasz scored twice.

“I think we’re doing a really good job with our wideouts,” Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said. “There was a time KJ had already decided to throw the ball away, but Andrew Armstrong did a nice job in the end zone getting open. I think we’re doing a really good job with the scramble drill. Luke himself catches the ball incredible and he can run. We continue to work on his blocking, but he’s a big-time weapon running routes and we’re adding stuff for him each week.”

Arkansas – LSU: LIVE updates, scores and highlights from second half

Arkansas holds a 13-10 lead over LSU as the second half gets under way. Follow along for live updates and highlights from Baton Rouge.

We’ve got a good one brewing down in Baton Rouge as the Hogs lead the LSU Tigers at halftime 13-10.

Arkansas entered tonight’s game as massive underdogs, but they’ve played like the better team through the better part of 30 minutes tonight. After having two drives stall out in the redzone and having to settle for a pair of field goals, the offense was able to put one in the endzone before halftime.

[autotag]KJ Jefferson[/autotag] found [autotag]Tyrone Broden[/autotag] for a 19-yard touchdown reception to give Arkansas the 13-3 lead with 48 seconds left until halftime. The Tigers were able to strike right back when Jayden Daniels found Brian Thomas Jr. for a 49-yard touchdown just 18 seconds later. Still, Arkansas was able to build a 13-10 lead heading into halftime.

LSU will get the ball to start the second half

Follow along for live drive-by-drive, score-by-score updates and highlights as they happen during the second half in Baton Rouge.

WATCH: Tyrone Broden shows he’s a grown man on Arkansas’ first touchdown

Broden, in his first year from Bowling Green, made the most of his 6-foot-7 frame and the strength that comes with it.

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman had said, even after the team’s first game of the season, that he wanted to get wide receiver Tyrone Broden more invovled.

Broden has arrived.

The 6-foot-7 wideout, a transfer from Bowling Green, caught the first touchdown of his Arkansas career on Saturday with 48 seconds left in the second quarter against LSU. The score gave Arkansas a 13-3 lead over the No. 12 Tigers.

Broden caught a 19-yard score in one-on-one coverage from quarterback KJ Jefferson. The LSU defender was pulling Broden down in the end zone before the ball even arrived and Arkansas’ wide receiver still hauled it and kept his 6-foot-7 frame from falling out of the back of the end zone.

Broden had two catches for 15 yards entering the game, but he had been a regular on the outside, staying in Arkansas top four throughout at the position.

At the point of his touchdown, Broden had three catches for 31 in Saturday alone.

Arkansas’ special teams players of the week so far? One. Tyrone Broden.

Broden, a transfer from Bowling Green, is about to pop in more than just punt coverage, Sam Pittman thinks.

At Arkansas coach Sam Pittman’s weekly Monday press conference, a remark was made by Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter Tom Murphy that if the SEC gave out Gunner of the Week awards, Tyrone Broden would almost surely have one just two weeks into the Arkansas portion of his college career.

He might even have two.

“Right now, people can’t handle him one-on-one,” Pittman said. “He’s done a really good job. Transfer kid like that, to not be getting the balls that he wants and to continue to play like he has, says a lot about who he is.”

Gunner is one of the least glamorous jobs of import in the game, maybe just behind long-snapper and holder – men who are only noticed when they make a mistake. Broden hasn’t made one yet on special teams. Arkansas punter Max Fletcher has booted eight punts so far in two weeks. Opposing punt returners have a total of three yards.

Much of that is because of the 6-foot-6 transfer from Bowling Green. Broden was expected to be in Arkansas’ top three receiving in 2023, but that hasn’t happened yet. He has been close, though, and has as many recepetions as tackles.

Pittman wants to reward him for his special teams play by getting him the ball instead of having him stop the ball.

“I wish we could get him the ball. I think he’s really good,” Pittman said. “Transfer kid like that, to not be getting the balls that he wants and to continue to play like he has, says a lot about who he is.”

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.