Arkansas may have its deepest tight end room since the 2015 season, when Hunter Henry and Jeremy Sprinkle dominated with a combined 1,128 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
If the 2024 unit is to achieve the same level of success as its predecessors, sophomore Luke Hasz needs to put up big production under offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino.
Named to the John Mackey and Comeback Player of the Year Award Watch Lists in the preseason, Hasz caught 16 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns last year before being interrupted by a season-ending broken clavicle early in the fifth game of the year against Texas A&M.
"I mean, first of all, he’s got good hand-eye coordination," Petrino said Tuesday. "His ability to adjust his body and make the catch, he’s very good on his route running and he’s tough. He’s a tough young man. He doesn’t shy away from anything."
One tight end who's been up and down throughout fall camp, according to Petrino, is redshirt junior Var'keyes Gumms, who returns after only catching three passes for 26 yards in 11 games a season ago.
Two years separated from being recognized by The Athletic as a Second-Team Freshman All-American for North Texas, Gumms reaching his potential at Arkansas rests on his ability to become more consistent.
"Some of it is being tough enough in every play, to concentrate and focus," Petrino said. "But, he can sure make a lot of plays for us. He can run and catch and do that."
Somewhat forgot about this fall is returning redshirt sophomore Ty Washington, who impressed with 11 catches, 170 yards and two touchdowns within a four-game stretch during the 2023 campaign before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.
Petrino said he's been impressed with the Georgia native after the two didn't work together in the spring while Washington continued to recover.
"I didn’t get to know him at all in the spring, he was hurt the entire time," Petrino said. "He’s really a young man that’s into it, he wants to be good. Wants to learn the game and know everything about it and he’s got some size and strength to him that he’ll definitely help us also."
Rounding out the expected contributors is Eastern Michigan transfer Andreas Paaske, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound Demark native who's steadily improved since arriving in Fayetteville.
"He’s gotten a lot better," Petrino said. "I’m really proud of him. When he was here in the spring, he was a very, likable, happy young man, but he needed to learn when it was serious. When you needed to get tougher and become a better player and he’s done that. He’s learned what it’s all about, the competitive spirit at this level and what I need to do. He continues to improve."
Paaske played in seven games with three starts for the Eagles in 2023, and logged four catches for 39 yards in that span. Primarily recruited for his blocking ability, Paaske has worked hard over the offseason in the passing game and will play a role in the offense, according to Petrino.
"He can not only run-block and pass-protect but he’s catching the ball well now too," Petrino said. "One of the things we really wanted to really emphasize with him was running after the catch because in the spring he didn’t look good doing that. He went down way too easy but he’s really improved on that also.
"In the first scrimmage, he had a really big day, caught three passes in a row, scored on the last one, broke three or four tackles and it gave him a lot of confidence and he continues to improve."
Arkansas will kickoff the 2024 season Thursday, Aug. 29, against UAPB at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
