Sam Pittman may not know how to correctly pronounce Treylon Burks’ name, but he knows Arkansas is better on the field with him out there.
Even at 80 percent.
That’s about where Pittman put the health level of the former Lumberjack after he had his best game as a Razorback in the 33-21 win over Ole Miss on Saturday.
Burks averaged 12.2 yards per touch in getting 183 all-purpose yards. He caught 11 passes — including the one-handed toe-tap for a touchdown that’s been on every weekend highlight reel — for 137 yards.
He also had 46 yards rushing on four carries.
“I wasn’t for sure he was going to be able to play,” Pittman said later. “He obviously couldn’t play last week. I didn’t know if he was going to be able to play on Tuesday, Wednesday. I felt a little bit better about him on Thursday, but we didn’t know if he was going to be able to play.”
Pittman runs a program that is buttoned-down about as well as anybody in college football. Information, particularly injuries, doesn’t make it out and when one of them posts something about their health on social media it generally gets the coach’s attention.
Burks sort of shrugged off the catch that had everyone buzzing, even on SportsCenter.
“It didn’t surprise me,” he said later. “I do it in practice. It’s just something I work on and something I want to get better at.”
With two weeks to prepare for a Halloween night game against Texas A&M, the hope is he a lot closer to 100 percent with whatever the problem was (everyone assumes knee, but we really have no official confirmation of that).
Even missing one game completely and only playing 12 plays against Mississippi State, Burks is the team leader in receptions with 19 and yardage at 249. His two touchdown catches are second on the team.
With fellow sophomore Trey Knox doing a remarkable job of hiding in plain sight with only four catches on the season, the chance is there and Burks is trying to pick up the slack … if he can stay healthy.
“We need to get him the ball as much as we can,” Pittman said Saturday.
That means at times Burks appears to not have a clue where he’s supposed to be on the field, running from side to side, turning around and such. That’s by design.
Offensive coordinator Kendal Briles wants to get him the ball in space, which is usually in the flat. That’s where he took a pass, then turned down the sideline in front of the Hogs’ bench for 55 yards to set up the first touchdown of the game.
“He’s always working hard trying to be quarterback-friendly to be able to get the ball,” Franks said after the game. “At the same time, getting the ball and getting yards after the catch.”
It was the second 100-yard receiving game of the season for Burks, who is now tied with Cobi Hamilton for eighth in Hogs’ history with 11 catches in one game.
One more 100-yard game on the season will give Burks three this year, tying him with 10 other receivers for seventh in school history for 100-yard receiving games in a season.
“I don’t think he’s reached his full potential yet,” Franks said. “He’s a heck of a player, but at the end of the day he’s continually getting better week in and week out.
“He worked super hard when he got injured, worked super hard in the training room to get his body back to be out here.”
Maybe Pittman will learn how his first name’s pronounced. He keeps saying TreyLON instead of the correct pronunciation of Treyluhn.
The guess is it’s not a big deal for Burks. If making circus catches for touchdowns isn’t that big of a deal he’s not going to be too worked up over how Pittman says his name.
He’s more interesting in winning games.
“We’re one unit, one goal is to win,” he said. “It’s showing on Saturdays. That’s what I’m proud of.”
