HawgBeat - Arkansas Football 2023 Spring Preview: Tight End
HawgBeat previews the Arkansas Razorbacks' tight end room ahead of spring practice ramping up in March.
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With Arkansas' spring football practice starting on March 9, it's time to begin previewing positions for the 2023 Razorbacks.
The Hogs currently sit with 76 scholarship players going into spring ball, which leaves nine open spots to fill when the transfer portal opens back up in May.
Head coach Sam Pittman's squad lost a lot as far as numbers go, but few played a significant amount during their time in Fayetteville. Arkansas added the nation's No. 20 2023 freshman class on Rivals with 20 incoming freshman, and it also added 10 talented transfers from the transfer portal.
We continue our spring preview with a position group that will feature a super senior and young players with plenty of talent...
Returning: Nathan Bax (super senior), Ty Washington (redshirt freshman)
Newcomers: Luke Hasz (freshman), Shamar Easter (freshman, enrolling after spring semester)
(only looking at scholarship players)
After losing tight ends coach Dowell Loggains, who took the offensive coordinator position at South Carolina, the Hogs saw starting tight end Trey Knox depart as well.
During his first full season as a tight end in 2022, Knox caught 26 passes for 296 yards and five scores. Alongside Knox was Nathan Bax and Hudson Henry, who combined to record seven catches for 43 yards.
Henry has moved on from his football career, while Bax is back for his final year of eligibility. He will be a veteran in a tight end room that features a group of interesting young prospects that can make an impact early.
Included in that group is redshirt freshman Ty Washington, who caught a touchdown in Arkansas' Liberty Bowl win over Kansas. The Hogs also have a pair of four-star freshmen in Luke Hasz and Shamar Easter (won't enroll until the summer), who were convinced by new tight ends coach Morgan Turner to hold firm in their pledge to the Razorbacks.
Here's an in-depth breakdown of the Hogs' tight end room ahead of spring practice:
Turner brings an extensive resume of pumping out NFL tight ends during his time with Stanford. Since 2013, Turner has helped develop some of the best tight ends on the next level, including Zach Ertz, Austin Hooper, Dalton Shultz, Coby Fleener and Colby Parkinson.
Along with the addition of Turner, the Hogs saw offensive coordinator Kendal Briles depart for the same position at TCU, opening the door for Dan Enos to take over as the Arkansas play caller for the second time in his coaching career.
During his previous stop with the Razorbacks, Enos saw the tight end position thrive. Arkansas great Hunter Henry won the Mackey Award during Enos' first season with the Hogs in 2015. Henry caught 51 passes for 739 yards and three scores that year.
Also in 2015, Jeremy Sprinkle caught 27 passes for 389 yards and six touchdowns. The next year, Sprinkle hauled in 33 passes for 380 yards and four scores.
It's safe to say that the tight end position served a very small role in Briles' offense over the past three season, as Knox's 296 receiving yards were the most by a tight end in that span. With Enos at the helm and the young talent at hand, Arkansas can get back to being in the conversation for "Tight End U."
While Bax is a veteran guy that will provide leadership to the position, he likely isn't going to be the next Hunter Henry. What the former walk-on will be is a willing and successful blocker.
Washington is an interesting case, as he asked to be redshirted after he saw action on special teams during the first four games of Arkansas' 2022 season. Pittman revealed ahead of the Dec. 28 Liberty Bowl game against Kansas that a new NCAA rule allowed players who had participated in four games to play in the bowl and it wouldn't eliminate their redshirt.
Ahead of that game against the Jayhawks, Hudson Henry told reporters that he was expecting big things out of Washington.
"I think he's a great player," Henry said on Dec. 20. "He's going to be a great player here. I think he's what you call a true tight end. I think he's going to be really good in this bowl game and give flashes at what the next few years could look like."
Washington caught just one pass in the 55-53 triple overtime win over Kansas, but it was a 17-yard touchdown from quarterback KJ Jefferson.
"I was pretty thrilled that it actually worked," Jefferson said after game. "And then we did it in practice, and the scout team wasn't biting on it. So it was like, do we need to run it or not, because the scout team wasn't biting on it too hard. So I mean, coach Briles called it at the perfect time...I'm happy it end up working out, and I'm proud of Tyrus for catching the ball and scoring his first touchdown."
Washington has the size and skillset to thrive as a successful tight end. The 6-foot-4-inch, 247 pound native of Leesburg, Georgia, was a three-star prospect coming out of Lee County High School.
Rounding out the trio of scholarship tight ends for the spring is 5.8 four-star freshman Luke Hasz out of Bixby, Oklahoma. Hasz tallied 100 catches for 1,736 yards and 20 touchdowns in his three seasons on varsity at Bixby High School.
A highly-sought after recruit, Hasz was pushed for by Alabama head coach Nick Saban after Loggains departed from Arkansas. Luckily for the Hogs, Turner was able to come in and convince Hasz that staying with the Hogs was the right call.
At 6-foot-3-inches, 245 pounds, Hasz projects to be a modern tight end that is a solid pass catcher with relative speed in space.
"Luke would be a guy that we hope can come in and help us," Pittman said on Dec. 21. "Physically, he’s ready to do that. He’s strong, comes from Bixby."
While Hasz has the potential to be a talented blocker, it will take some time to get adjusted to the SEC caliber defenders that he will be going against. Still, he has the ability to contribute in his first season and I expect him to.
Another four-star freshman, Easter won't enroll until after the spring semester, meaning he won't participate in spring practices.
HawgBeat's spring football preview series
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