From @masonchoate:
arkansas.rivals.com
After 15 practices spanning from March 9-April 15, the Arkansas Razorbacks have wrapped up their spring schedule and are now looking ahead to the summer.
Head coach Sam Pittman's crew accomplished many things and displayed growth as a group that had five new on-field assistants and 21 new participating players.
With the ever-changing world of college football, Arkansas' changes over the offseason have proven to be for the best so far. Third year starting quarterback KJ Jefferson said everyone is bought into the process.
"I mean, we became tighter than ever, everybody’s buying into the process, I mean, we’re trusting the coaches," Jefferson said. "So I mean, we’re just coming together, everybody’s coming together, buying in, no one’s complaining, no one’s trying to cut corners, take the easy way out.
"I mean, everybody’s working, coming in on off days, working, helping each other more. I would say that’s the big thing is everybody’s helping each other more. If somebody’s struggling, before the coaches even say something, a player’s already in his ear coaching him up. So things like that just translate over to just for the future, just knowing that we’re on the right path."
With buying into the process comes players who take a step forward, and the Razorbacks had plenty of those this spring. Here are five names that really stood out to me this spring:
Isaiah Sategna - redshirt freshman WR
If I was to name an MVP of the spring, Sategna would probably be at the top of my list. A former four-star recruit out of Fayetteville, Sategna was virtually unstoppable all spring.
Every practice during team period drills or two-on-threes, Sategna was always making plays. Very rarely was a defender close enough to him to make a play on the ball, because Sategna is just that fast. The product of Fayetteville High School was a top track and field prospect in the nation in the 2022 class and he was the 2021-22 Gatorade Arkansas Boys Track & Field Player of the Year.
Fans were finally able to get a glimpse of what we've seen all spring during Saturday's Red-White scrimmage, when Sategna caught all three of his targets for 95 yards and two scores, including a 65-yard touchdown grab from Jefferson.
"If you look at wideouts just in general, he played with a lot of confidence," Pittman said after the Red-White scrimmage. "He’s always had a lot of talent. But he’s playing with a lot of confidence. From where I was, I felt like one of his two touchdowns was a tough catch, and he made that. He has a lot of confidence right now."
Sategna added after the Red-White scrimmage that he feels like he's a lot better of a player than he was last year.
"He’s made great strides this spring," Jefferson said of Sategna. "He’s really embraced it...I’m glad Isaiah got to showcase his talents today, his athleticism. He made some really good catches down the field and across the middle and stuff like that. We always knew that Isaiah had the potential to play in this league and just being able to just showcase his talents today is really just amazing."
It's hard to read into Sategna not running with the first team every practice, as Pittman even made it an emphasis for position coaches to start different players just about every practice. What is easy to read into is that Sategna got the job done no matter who was in front of him.
The 5-foot-11, 178 pound receiver didn't do all of his work on some simple out-routes and slants. He made toe-tapping grabs on the sideline, sped past guys on streak routes and made contested catches look easy.
Sategna might not go for 1,000 yards this fall, but there is no question that he made a case to be a starter with his spring showing.
Landon Jackson - junior DE
At 6-foot-7, 269 pounds, Jackson was incredibly hard to block for an offensive line that was shuffling guys around for a portion of the spring.
After transferring in from LSU prior to last season, Jackson played at around 75% for a good portion of his sophomore campaign as he was recovering from a torn ACL. Now, the Texarkana native is fully healthy and causing problems.
"I think if you look back, Landon had come off an ACL," Pittman said on April 4. "He was tall and thin. I mean, he was skinny. He was playing about three quarter speed and he got a little bit better as the year went on.
"Now he’s bigger, confident, long. He’s a problem, now. A good problem. He’s on our team, but he’s a problem if you’re an offensive lineman. It’s just his speed and his size right now that…I mean, he’s been hard to block."
Pittman said all of that after a closed scrimmage in which Jackson had "as good a day as he's had" since he's been in Fayetteville.
Jackson recorded a pair of sacks in the Red-White scrimmage and further proved that he's ready to take the next step as an elite edge rusher in the SEC.
"Landon’s so long. I feel like he’s bigger — well, I know he is," Pittman said after the scrimmage. "He’s bigger than he’s been since he’s been here and I think his ACL, his mind is very confident in his legs. He’s so long, man. He’s hard to block."
After Arkansas set a program record with 42 sacks in 2022, it might be able to build off that even more in the fall with Jackson playing at a high level and all of the transfers they've added in Trajan Jeffcoat, John Morgan and Tank Booker, with the potential of others to come.
Patrick Kutas - sophomore RT
Pittman and offensive line coach Cody Kennedy know what they have in veterans Beaux Limmer at center and Brady Latham at left guard. But aside from those two, the rest of the offensive line was a question mark.
Devon Manuel seems to have found a home at left tackle, right guard is to be determined still and sophomore Patrick Kutas has taken over as the top guy at right tackle.
A former three-star out of Memphis, Tennessee, Kutas drew plenty of praise from Pittman and his teammates throughout the spring. After serving primarily as a guard and backup center during practices last year, Kutas has moved to tackle, where Pittman and his staff recruited Kutas to play.
Jackson even said after the Red-White scrimmage that he thinks the move took a little too long.
"I personally think they should have done that a long time ago," Jackson said. "I think he's really good out there. His feet are great. He has the power and the strength. So he's by far one of our best offensive linemen. He can be a really dominant offensive lineman as he ages."
At 6-foot-5, 303 pounds, Kutas is "strong as all get out," according to defensive end Zach Williams. Pittman has even compared Kutas' situation to that of former Georgia Bulldog Andrew Thomas, who Pittman coached to be a first round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Thomas was behind another first round pick in Isaiah Wynn at left tackle, so Pittman moved Thomas to left guard. Then he decided to moved Thomas to right tackle because that was more of a position of need.
"I moved him to right tackle two weeks before the first game," Pittman said April 4. "I remember Kirby (Smart) said, ‘Pittman, it better work man.’ And of course he went out there and we went to the national championship game and he was the fourth pick in the draft. Those things are fun to find out about your kids."
CONTINUE READING
HawgBeat - Five most impressive players during Arkansas spring football
HawgBeat breaks down the five most impressive players from Arkansas' spring football practices.
arkansas.rivals.com
After 15 practices spanning from March 9-April 15, the Arkansas Razorbacks have wrapped up their spring schedule and are now looking ahead to the summer.
Head coach Sam Pittman's crew accomplished many things and displayed growth as a group that had five new on-field assistants and 21 new participating players.
With the ever-changing world of college football, Arkansas' changes over the offseason have proven to be for the best so far. Third year starting quarterback KJ Jefferson said everyone is bought into the process.
"I mean, we became tighter than ever, everybody’s buying into the process, I mean, we’re trusting the coaches," Jefferson said. "So I mean, we’re just coming together, everybody’s coming together, buying in, no one’s complaining, no one’s trying to cut corners, take the easy way out.
"I mean, everybody’s working, coming in on off days, working, helping each other more. I would say that’s the big thing is everybody’s helping each other more. If somebody’s struggling, before the coaches even say something, a player’s already in his ear coaching him up. So things like that just translate over to just for the future, just knowing that we’re on the right path."
With buying into the process comes players who take a step forward, and the Razorbacks had plenty of those this spring. Here are five names that really stood out to me this spring:
Isaiah Sategna - redshirt freshman WR
If I was to name an MVP of the spring, Sategna would probably be at the top of my list. A former four-star recruit out of Fayetteville, Sategna was virtually unstoppable all spring.
Every practice during team period drills or two-on-threes, Sategna was always making plays. Very rarely was a defender close enough to him to make a play on the ball, because Sategna is just that fast. The product of Fayetteville High School was a top track and field prospect in the nation in the 2022 class and he was the 2021-22 Gatorade Arkansas Boys Track & Field Player of the Year.
Fans were finally able to get a glimpse of what we've seen all spring during Saturday's Red-White scrimmage, when Sategna caught all three of his targets for 95 yards and two scores, including a 65-yard touchdown grab from Jefferson.
"If you look at wideouts just in general, he played with a lot of confidence," Pittman said after the Red-White scrimmage. "He’s always had a lot of talent. But he’s playing with a lot of confidence. From where I was, I felt like one of his two touchdowns was a tough catch, and he made that. He has a lot of confidence right now."
Sategna added after the Red-White scrimmage that he feels like he's a lot better of a player than he was last year.
"He’s made great strides this spring," Jefferson said of Sategna. "He’s really embraced it...I’m glad Isaiah got to showcase his talents today, his athleticism. He made some really good catches down the field and across the middle and stuff like that. We always knew that Isaiah had the potential to play in this league and just being able to just showcase his talents today is really just amazing."
It's hard to read into Sategna not running with the first team every practice, as Pittman even made it an emphasis for position coaches to start different players just about every practice. What is easy to read into is that Sategna got the job done no matter who was in front of him.
The 5-foot-11, 178 pound receiver didn't do all of his work on some simple out-routes and slants. He made toe-tapping grabs on the sideline, sped past guys on streak routes and made contested catches look easy.
Sategna might not go for 1,000 yards this fall, but there is no question that he made a case to be a starter with his spring showing.
Landon Jackson - junior DE
At 6-foot-7, 269 pounds, Jackson was incredibly hard to block for an offensive line that was shuffling guys around for a portion of the spring.
After transferring in from LSU prior to last season, Jackson played at around 75% for a good portion of his sophomore campaign as he was recovering from a torn ACL. Now, the Texarkana native is fully healthy and causing problems.
"I think if you look back, Landon had come off an ACL," Pittman said on April 4. "He was tall and thin. I mean, he was skinny. He was playing about three quarter speed and he got a little bit better as the year went on.
"Now he’s bigger, confident, long. He’s a problem, now. A good problem. He’s on our team, but he’s a problem if you’re an offensive lineman. It’s just his speed and his size right now that…I mean, he’s been hard to block."
Pittman said all of that after a closed scrimmage in which Jackson had "as good a day as he's had" since he's been in Fayetteville.
Jackson recorded a pair of sacks in the Red-White scrimmage and further proved that he's ready to take the next step as an elite edge rusher in the SEC.
"Landon’s so long. I feel like he’s bigger — well, I know he is," Pittman said after the scrimmage. "He’s bigger than he’s been since he’s been here and I think his ACL, his mind is very confident in his legs. He’s so long, man. He’s hard to block."
After Arkansas set a program record with 42 sacks in 2022, it might be able to build off that even more in the fall with Jackson playing at a high level and all of the transfers they've added in Trajan Jeffcoat, John Morgan and Tank Booker, with the potential of others to come.
Patrick Kutas - sophomore RT
Pittman and offensive line coach Cody Kennedy know what they have in veterans Beaux Limmer at center and Brady Latham at left guard. But aside from those two, the rest of the offensive line was a question mark.
Devon Manuel seems to have found a home at left tackle, right guard is to be determined still and sophomore Patrick Kutas has taken over as the top guy at right tackle.
A former three-star out of Memphis, Tennessee, Kutas drew plenty of praise from Pittman and his teammates throughout the spring. After serving primarily as a guard and backup center during practices last year, Kutas has moved to tackle, where Pittman and his staff recruited Kutas to play.
Jackson even said after the Red-White scrimmage that he thinks the move took a little too long.
"I personally think they should have done that a long time ago," Jackson said. "I think he's really good out there. His feet are great. He has the power and the strength. So he's by far one of our best offensive linemen. He can be a really dominant offensive lineman as he ages."
At 6-foot-5, 303 pounds, Kutas is "strong as all get out," according to defensive end Zach Williams. Pittman has even compared Kutas' situation to that of former Georgia Bulldog Andrew Thomas, who Pittman coached to be a first round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Thomas was behind another first round pick in Isaiah Wynn at left tackle, so Pittman moved Thomas to left guard. Then he decided to moved Thomas to right tackle because that was more of a position of need.
"I moved him to right tackle two weeks before the first game," Pittman said April 4. "I remember Kirby (Smart) said, ‘Pittman, it better work man.’ And of course he went out there and we went to the national championship game and he was the fourth pick in the draft. Those things are fun to find out about your kids."
CONTINUE READING
