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If Cooper is out, could former Razorback Gragg be next TE’s coach?

There were multiple reports Friday that tight ends coach Jon Cooper is out and it just so happens a good replacement candidate is in town.

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There were multiple reports Friday that Arkansas tight ends coach Jon Cooper is out and it just so happens a possible replacement that could fit is in town.

Warren native Chris Gragg, who spent last season as a graduate assistant working with wide receivers for Memphis, might be a good choice to take that spot.

It was also interesting to see he was apparently in Fayetteville this week.


With Sam Pittman’s first requirement recruiting, Gragg knows the landscape in Arkansas and getting players. He also has first-hand experience playing tight end in addition to wide receiver.

In high school, he was a wide receiver and part of three Lumberjacks that Bobby Petrino rounded up in his first class in 2008 along with Jarius Wright and Greg Childs.

Gragg had 72 catches at Arkansas for 1,003 yards and scored seven touchdowns.

He was drafted by Buffalo and played three seasons there before winding up his career in Philadelphia.

Pittman has been juggling the staff with linebackers coach Rion Rhoades fired and replaced by defensive quality control staffer Michael Scherer.

Scherer was a linebacker at Missouri from 2012-2016. He chose the Tigers and Hogs’ defensive coordinator Barry Odom (then Missouri’s coach) out of high school from St. Louis Country Day.

He may have been Odom’s first choice to coach linebackers all along and part of the deal for him to back away from reported opportunities at LSU and Texas was getting his first choice as the linebackers coach.

Scherer was an on-field coach for the Hogs against Florida when Odom served as the head coach for one game while Sam Pittman recovered from covid-19.

On Friday, multiple media outlets reported Cooper was out as the tight ends coach.

That creates an opening Gragg could be a good choice to fill.

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2024 High School Rankings

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:
OVERALLRecordPtsPrv
1.Bryant (18)8-02521
2.Conway (6)8-02302
3.Greenwood (2)8-02103
4.Little Rock Parkview7-11714
5.Bentonville5-31416
6.Benton7-11265
7.Fayetteville6-21008
8.Pulaski Academy6-2757
9.Rogers5-3459
10.Shiloh Christian6-24010
Others receiving votes: Marion 13, Valley View 9, Joe T Robinson 8, Mountain Home 4, Cabot 3, Elkins 3.
CLASS 7A
1.Bryant (20)8-01241
2.Conway (6)8-01052
3.Bentonville5-3753
4.Fayetteville6-2455
5.Pulaski Academy6-2354
Others receiving votes: Rogers 5.
CLASS 6A
1.Greenwood (26)8-01301
2.Benton7-11022
3.Shiloh Christian6-2713
4.Marion7-1524
5.Mountain Home7-131
Others receiving votes: Little Rock Catholic 4.
CLASS 5A
1.Little Rock Parkview (23)7-11271
2.Joe T Robinson7-1902
3.Valley View (3)8-0803
4.Hot Springs Lakeside7-1484
5.Farmington7-130
Others receiving votes: Camden Fairview 4, Maumelle 4, Morrilton 3, Greenbrier 2, Harding Academy 1.
CLASS 4A
1.Elkins (19)8-01161
2.Arkadelphia (5)6-2792
3.Little Rock Mills (1)8-0703
4.Warren6-2404
5.Malvern (1)8-0315
Others receiving votes: Dardanelle 22, Southside Batesville 11, Mena 8, Bauxite 7, DeWitt 4, Highland 2.
CLASS 3A
4.Bismarck (15)8-01054
5.Fordyce (4)8-0765
Prescott (3)7-1531t
1.Osceola (2)6-149
3.Mayflower (1)8-036
Others receiving votes: Booneville (1) 31, Rivercrest 19, Mansfield 14, Charleston 4, Rison 3.
CLASS 2A
1.Carlisle (21)8-01211
2.Conway Christian (4)8-01042
3.Des Arc7-1663
4.Bigelow (1)6-2455
5.Murfreesboro6-230
Others receiving votes: Marked Tree 10, Mineral Springs 6, Junction City 5, Cross County 1, Mount Ida 1, Poyen 1
8-MAN SANCTIONED
1.Strong-Huttig (25)5-0761
2.Midland (1)7-0502
3.Cedar Ridge7-1253
Others receiving votes: Rector 5.

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