Football
Catalon on preseason All-American team; Crawford glad he’s playing now
Razorbacks safety Jalen Catalon and wide receiver Jaquayln Crawford talked with the media after Monday afternoon’s practice.
Arkansas standout Jalen Catalon has been named a preseason All-American by The Associated Press.
One of the best safeties in all of college football, Catalon was named to the AP’s second-team defense on Monday after logging 99 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, three interceptions, four pass breakups, one fumble recovery and two forced fumbles as a redshirt freshman last year.
His 9.9 tackles per game tied for the FBS freshmen lead and was fourth among all SEC defenders.
Catalon grabbed FWAA Freshman All-American and All-SEC first team (AP) honors last season, becoming the first SEC freshman since Tennessee’s Eric Berry in 2007 to post at least 86 tackles and three interceptions.
Against Tennessee, he recorded 12 tackles and tallied an interception and pass breakup, claiming SEC Defensive Player and Jim Thorpe Award Player of the Week recognition.
The Mansfield, Texas, native heads into the 2021 campaign with a long list of accolades, including preseason All-SEC honors as well as watch list recognition for the Bednarik Award, Jim Thorpe Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy.
| Thu, Aug 29 |  | vs UAPB (Little Rock) | W, 70-0 |
| Sat, Sep 7 |  | @ Oklahoma State | L, 31-39 2OT |
| Sat, Sep 14 |  | vs UAB | 3:15 PM |
| Sat, Sep 21 |  | @ Auburn | 2:30 or 3:15 PM TBD |
| Sat, Sep 28 |  | vs Texas A&M (Arl) | TBD |
| Sat, Oct 5 |  | vs Tennessee | TBD |
| Sat, Oct 19 |  | vs LSU | TBD |
| Sat, Oct 26 |  | @ Mississippi State | TBD |
| Sat, Nov 2 |  | vs Ole Miss | TBD |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Texas | 11:00 AM |
| Sat, Nov 23 |  | vs Louisiana Tech | TBD |
| Sat, Nov 30 |  | @ Missouri | TBD |
| Following is the Arkansas Sports Media High School Football Poll including the Overall Top 10, the top five in Classes 7A, 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A and 2A, plus the top three in the 8-man division, as voted by a panel of sports media from around the state for the week ending August 24. Ranking is given with first-place votes received, records, total points and ranking from last week's poll: | ||||
| OVERALL | Record | Pts | Prv | |
| 1. | Bryant (4) | 3-0 | 116 | 1 |
| 2. | Greenwood (2) | 3-0 | 107 | 3 |
| 3. | Fayetteville (4) | 2-0 | 104 | 2 |
| 4. | Conway (2) | 2-0 | 99 | 4 |
| 5. | Little Rock Parkview (1) | 2-1 | 80 | 5 |
| 6. | Pulaski Academy | 3-0 | 67 | 6 |
| 7. | Benton | 1-1 | 46 | 8 |
| 8. | Bentonville | 0-2 | 28 | 9 |
| 9. | Shiloh Christian | 2-1 | 19 | 7 |
| 10. | Cabot | 1-2 | 14 | 10 |
| Others receiving votes: Marion 11, Rogers 8, Joe T. Robinson 6, Springdale 5, Fort Smith Southside 2, Valley View 2, Arkadelphia 1. | ||||
| CLASS 7A | ||||
| 1. | Bryant (5) | 3-0 | 56 | 1 |
| 2. | Fayetteville (5) | 2-0 | 53 | 2 |
| 3. | Conway (3) | 3-0 | 46 | 3 |
| 4. | Pulaski Academy | 3-0 | 25 | 4 |
| 5. | Bentonville | 0-2 | 9 | 5 |
| Others receiving votes: Rogers 4, Cabot 1, Springdale 1. | ||||
| CLASS 6A | ||||
| 1. | Greenwood (13) | 3-0 | 65 | 1 |
| 2. | Benton | 1-1 | 51 | 2 |
| 3. | Shiloh Christian | 2-1 | 36 | 3 |
| 4. | Marion | 2-1 | 20 | 4 |
| 5. | Mountain Home | 2-0 | 17 | 5 |
| Others receiving votes: Fort Smith Southside 6. | ||||
| CLASS 5A | ||||
| 1. | Little Rock Parkview (13) | 2-1 | 65 | 1 |
| 2. | Joe T Robinson | 2-1 | 50 | 2 |
| 3. | Harding Academy | 1-1 | 27 | 3 |
| 4. | Valley View | 3-0 | 18 | 5 |
| 5. | Hot Springs Lakeside | 2-1 | 14 | 4 |
| Others receiving votes: Camden Fairview 12, Maumelle 5, Morrilton 3, Greenbrier 1. | ||||
| CLASS 4A | ||||
| 1. | Elkins (7) | 3-0 | 52 | 3 |
| 2. | Arkadelphia (2) | 1-2 | 34 | 2 |
| 3. | Warren (2) | 1-2 | 31 | 1 |
| Little Rock Mills (1) | 3-0 | 31 | 4 | |
| 5. | Malvern (1) | 3-0 | 22 | 5 |
| Others receiving votes: DeWitt 14, Highland 5, Bauxite 4, Southside Batesville 1, Clinton 1. | ||||
| CLASS 3A | ||||
| 1. | Booneville (6) | 2-0 | 56 | 2 |
| 2. | Prescott (5) | 2-0 | 52 | 1 |
| 3. | Newport (1) | 3-0 | 31 | 4 |
| 4. | Rivercrest (1) | 2-0 | 27 | 3 |
| 5. | Walnut Ridge | 3-0 | 15 | 5 |
| Others receiving votes: Bismarck 5, Salem 4, Fordyce 3, Charleston 2. | ||||
| CLASS 2A | ||||
| 1. | Carlisle (8) | 2-0 | 57 | 1 |
| 2. | Conway Christian (3) | 3-0 | 53 | 2 |
| 3. | Des Arc | 2-0 | 21 | — |
| 4. | Junction City | 1-2 | 20 | 4 |
| 5. | Marked Tree (1) | 2-1 | 18 | — |
| Others receiving votes: Bigelow (1) 13, Mineral Springs 10, McCrory 3. | ||||
| 8-MAN SANCTIONED | ||||
| 1. | Rector (9) | 1-0 | 31 | 1 |
| 2. | Strong (4) | 0-0 | 29 | 2 |
| 3. | Woodlawn | 1-1 | 6 | 3 |
| Others receiving votes: Cedar Ridge 4, Midland 3, Brinkley 2. | ||||