Bucknam signs 12 future Razorbacks for men’s track
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas cross country and track and field coach Chris Bucknam has announced the signing of 12 future Razorbacks who will join the program ahead of the 2019 track and field season.
“I am thrilled with our incoming group of student-athletes this year,” said Bucknam. “This is one of our more talented incoming recruiting classes, and they will help us immediately at the SEC and NCAA championships this coming year. We are excited about each of these individuals and can’t wait for them to get started with our team this fall.”
Headlined by Vernon Turner, a Big 12 Champion and two-time All-American at Oklahoma, and Tre’Bien Gilbert, a USA Today High School All-American and Gatorade Texas Track and Field Athlete of the Year, the recruiting class is comprised of student-athletes from eight states, including two from Arkansas.
Vernon Turner, High Jump | Yukon, Okla./ Yukon High School / University of Oklahoma
Event: High Jump
Personal Best: High Jump – 7’7.75”
Accolades: 2018 Big 12 Outdoor High Jump Champion, Two-Time All-American in High Jump at Oklahoma, Two-time Gatorade Oklahoma Track and Field Athlete of the Year (2016, 2017), Three-time Oklahoma state champion in the high jump (2015, 2016, 2017)
Turner on Arkansas: “I chose Arkansas because of the winning environment and the facilities are the nicest in the country. I’m excited to be a Razorback.”
Turner was the nation’s top-ranked high school high jumper in 2017 and continued that success into his freshman season at Oklahoma. At the Tyson Invitational last season, he jumped 7’7.75” (2.33 meters) ranking him fourth in NCAA history indoors. He went on to place second at the Big 12 Indoor Championships and fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships, the only freshman to place in scoring position. During the outdoor season, he jumped 7’5.75” to win the Big 12 Outdoor Championship before placing sixth at the NCAA Outdoor Championship.
Tre’Bien Gilbert, Hurdles | Converse, Texas / Judson High School
Events: 110-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles
Personal Bests: 110-meter hurdles – 13.53, 300-meter hurdles – 36.18
Accolades: USA Today High School All-American, Texas Gatorade Track and Field Athlete of the Year, 110-meter hurdle Texas 6A state champion, 300-meter hurdle Texas 6A state champion, 110-meter hurdle school record, 300-meter hurdle school record, 110-meter hurdle area champion, 300-meter hurdle district, area, regional champion 300-meter hurdle city record
Gilbert on Arkansas: “I chose to come to Arkansas because during the recruiting process Arkansas felt like home to me. I am excited to be a Razorback.”
Gilbert was the only high school senior ranked in the nation’s top five in both the 110-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles during the 2018 high school season. He won Texas 6A state titles in both the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles en route to the nation’s fastest high school 110-meter hurdle time (13.53) and the third-fastest 300-meter hurdle time (36.18) in the United States during his senior season. Gilbert also anchored Converse Judson’s 4-x-400-meter relay team to a fourth-place finish at the state championships, accounting for 22.5 of his team’s 49-points and a runner-up team finish at the Texas State Championships. Gilbert was the only double state champion on the track in Texas’s 6A division this year. He also won the 91st Texas Relays 300-meter hurdles title and was District, Area and Region runner-up in the triple jump in 2018.
Rashad Boyd, Sprints | Houston, Texas / Alief Hastings High School
Events: 100-meters, 200-meters
Personal Bests: 100m – 10.61 (10.55w), 200m – 20.93
Accolades: TSU Relays 200-meter champion, 200-meter state qualifier, Texas Relays 100-meter finalist
Boyd on Arkansas: “What gets better than the Arkansas track team?”
Boyd was the twelfth-fastest high school 200-meter runner in the United States during 2018. He placed sixth in the 200-meter final at Texas 6A State Championship and was the Texas 6A Region III runner-up in 200m. His brother, Rakeem Boyd, is an Arkansas football signee.
Travean Caldwell, Sprints and Hurdles | Crossett, Ark. | Crossett High School / Arkansas Baptist College
Events: 400-meters, 400-meter hurdles
Personal Bests: 200-meters – 21.69, 400-meters – 47.30, 400-meter hurdles – 52.77
Accolades: 400-meter hurdle school record at Arkansas Baptist College (52.1), triple jump record at Crossett High School (47’-6″), won Arkansas State Championships Decathlon in 2016 with Crossett High School
Caldwell on Arkansas: “I chose to attend Arkansas because I would like to keep my talent in the state of which I was born! WOO PIG SOOIE!”
Caldwell was an NJCAA National Championships qualifier in the 400-meters (indoors 2017 and 2018) and 400-meter hurdles (outdoors 2017). A frequent visitor to Fayetteville as a member of Arkansas Baptist’s track team, he took third-place at Arkansas Twilight meet in the 400-meter hurdles in 2018.
Kevin Wilkinson, Middle Distance | Moorpark, Calif. | Bishop Alemany High School / Arizona State University
Events: 800-meters, 1500-meters
Personal Bests: 800-meters – 1:50.91, 1,500-meters – 4:00.81
Accolades: 2017 CIF Division 3 Champion, High School 800m school record holder, 2018 Pac-12 800m finalist
Wilkinson on Arkansas: “Fayetteville is a great city where it feels like the whole community revolves around their sports programs. The small town vibe is a lot different for me since I’m originally from Los Angeles and I love the fact that everyone seems welcoming and knows each other… It also doesn’t hurt that the University of Arkansas is in the best conference in the NCAA.”
Wilkinson, a California State Championship qualifier in the 800m as a high school senior in 2017, placed seventh at the Pac-12 Championships as a freshman at Arizona State last year. He also ran a leg on Arizona State’s sixth placing 4×400-meter relay team.
Trey Grayson, Middle Distance | Glenpool, Okla.| Glenpool High School / Oklahoma State University
Events: 400-meters, 800-meters
Personal Bests: 800-meters – 1:51.49, 1,600-meters – 4:16.10, 3,200-meters – 9:43.63
Accolades: Seven-time Oklahoma state champion, six-time All-State team, 11-time USATF Youth Outdoor Champion
Grayson on Arkansas: “I chose to attend Arkansas because the program has the means to take my talents to the next level and that really excites me.”
Grayson swept the distance events at Oklahoma’s 5A State Championships as a high school senior in 2016, winning the 800-meters, 1600-meters, and 3200-meters while pacing his Glenpool team to a state title. During the 2018 season, he raced frequently in Fayetteville as a redshirt freshman middle distance runner for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, winning the 800-meters at the John McDonnell Invitational. Grayson’s mother, Nancy, was a collegiate middle-distance runner and a member of the Kenyan national team.
Carl Elliott, Sprints and Hurdles| Fort Pierce, Fla. | Fort Pierce Central High School / Edward Waters College
Events: 200-meters, 110-meter hurdles, triple jump
Personal Bests: 200-meters – 21.66, 110-meter hurdles – 14.24, TJ – 45’1.25”, LJ – 21’7”
Accolades: Fourth-place in 110-meter hurdles at Florida high school state meet (2016-2017), Edward Waters College 110-meter hurdles and triple jump record holder and conference champion in 110-meter hurdles, 2017-2018 Edward Waters College 110-meter hurdles record holder and conference champion (2016-2017), fifth-place All-America at NAIA Nationals
Elliott on Arkansas: “I chose Arkansas because of the rich history of the program. Seeing all of the successful people that have prospered after attending Arkansas is a dream that I would love to live one day and I know that the University of Arkansas will get me there.”
Elliott was the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference 110-meter hurdles champion in both 2017 and 2018. He scored in the 200-meters, 110-meter hurdles, long jump, triple jump and 4-x-100-meter relay to help Edward Waters College win their conference team title in 2018. Elliott placed fifth at the NAIA National Championships in the 110-meter hurdles in 2017. He finished 2018 ranked seventh in the NAIA in the 110-meter hurdles.
Kyle Costner, Multi-Events | Brentwood, Tenn. | Brentwood High School
Event: Decathlon
Personal Bests: 100-meters – 11.41, 400-meters – 50.2, 110-meter hurdles – 14.81, LJ – 22’1”, TJ – 42’5”, HJ – 6’2”, PV – 13’, SP – 40’, DT – 114’, Decathlon – 6,309-points
Accolades: Eight-time All-State, two-time All-American, Decathlon AAU National Champion
Costner on Arkansas: “I chose Arkansas because of the phenomenal athletics program and coaching staff, as well as the outstanding business school.”
The third-place finisher at the Tennessee decathlon state championships, Costner ranked among the top-25 high school decathletes as a senior in 2018. He also placed third in the state decathlon as a junior before placing tenth at the high school national championships in 2017. An AAU National Champion and multiple time All-American, Costner scored in three events (state runner-up in 110-meter hurdles, third-place finisher in the decathlon, and 8th place finisher in the 300-meter hurdles) helping Brentwood to a runner-up finish at the Tennessee State Championships as a senior.
Brittan Burns, Multi-Events | Prior Lake, Minn. | Lakeville South High School
Event: Decathlon
Personal Bests: 100-meters – 11.85, 400-meters – 52.99, 1,500-meters – 4:52, 110-meter hurdles – 15.24, LJ – 21’8.75”, HJ – 6’4”, PV – 12’6”, SP – 38’1”, DT – 109’4”, JV – 117’8”, Decathlon – 5,873-points
Accolades: Three-time USATF All-American, New Balance Outdoor National Championships three-time qualifier (championship division, decathlon), New Balance Indoor Nationals Championships ninth-place (championship division, pentathlon).
Burns on Arkansas: “Arkansas felt like the best place for me to be for my college career. They are an incredibly talented team that is always contending for championships.”
Burns placed ninth in the pentathlon at the 2018 high school indoor national championships and qualified three times for the decathlon at the national high school outdoor championships. His lifetime best decathlon score of 5,873 came in an eighth-place finish at the Arcadia Invitational during his senior year. His sister, Shaina, was the SEC runner-up in the heptathlon at 2018 SEC Outdoor Championships competing for Texas A&M.
Daniel Spejcher, Multi-Events | Bloomington, Ill. | Lake Park High School
Event: Decathlon
Personal Bests: 100-meters – 11.2, 200-meters – 22.3, 400-meters – 53.2, 110-meters hurdles – 14.99, LJ – 22’11.75”, HJ – 6’3”, PV – 10’6”, SP – 45’4”, DT – 127’6”, JV – 125’8”, Decathlon – 5,715-points
Accolades: Four-time all-conference, three-time all-area.
Spejcher on Arkansas: “Arkansas felt most like home to me during the recruiting process. Fayetteville has a town type of feeling that I’m most comfortable with. Also, I felt connected with the track team when I was there on my official visit.”
Spejcher was an Illinois state qualifier in the long jump during both his junior and senior his senior years. As a high school sophomore, he won the decathlon at his regional USATF Junior Olympic Championships before placing eighth at the National Junior Olympic Championships.
Connor Holzkamper, Multi-Events | Keller, Texas | Liberty Christian School
Event: Decathlon
Personal Bests: 100-meters – 10.90, 200-meters – 22.48, 400-meters – 55.18, HJ – 5-6
Accolades: TSU Relays 200-meter champion, 200-meter state qualifier, Texas Relays 100-meter finalist
Holzkamper on Arkansas: “I chose Arkansas because of the world-class coaching I will receive there. World class coaching equals world-class athletes!”
Holzkamper has only competed in track and field for two years. He played varsity football in 10th and 11th grade and varsity lacrosse in 9th and 10th grade for Liberty Christian School.
Jon Conley, Sprints/Jumps | Fayetteville, Ark. | Fayetteville High School
Events: 100-meters, Long Jump
Conley is the son of legendary Razorback Mike Conley, a 16-time NCAA Champion and two-time Olympic medalist. He competed in the 100-meters and Long Jump for Fayetteville High School.
Saban’s idea on league scheduling could be huge
For a gathering of media interviewing primarily other media, SEC Media Daze this year badly needed SOMETHING to liven things up.
Through the first three days it’s been about as plain as it can get. Lots of coach-speak and chest-thumping from the biggest and baddest football conference out there.
Then, as if on cue, in rides Nick Saban to the rescue.
And he knew the question of Jalen Hurts or Tua Tagovailoa would be on everybody’s mind.
“The number one thing that you will want to talk about is the quarterback controversy that you’d love to create, that you’ve already created, that you will continue to create, and I will tell you the same thing exists there,” Nick said. “It’s still to be determined as to who is going to play quarterback for Alabama. So you can ask all of the questions about it, but it’s still to be determined.”
Nick’s flair for the dramatic is probably not by accident. Very little of what he does is. It pretty much forced some creative questioning that Nick dodged when necessary.
But it was at the end of his appearance in the big room that he basically forced something into an answer that he apparently was wanting to get around to.
Many people just flat didn’t pay attention to it. Or get the significance of what he forced into an answer to a question about opening against Louisville in Orlando.
Nick would like to see the SEC go to playing nine or 10 conference games each year and no games scheduled against teams not in a Power 5 conference:
“I know nobody really asked this, but I’ve always been an advocate of playing all Power Five schools. I think we need to get … have more really, really good games on TV for the players. We can’t have fans who pay a lot of money for tickets and boxes and loges who support our programs to pay for games that no one is interested in watching.
So that’s … now, I’ve heard [SEC commissioner] Greg [Sankey] talk about the fact that we don’t want to play nine SEC games, but I’ve always been an advocate of playing nine or ten SEC games and a couple other games against some other good opponents that everybody would be happy to watch.
I think it would help us determine, to your next question, who should be in the playoffs. And you might not have to go undefeated to get into the playoffs, because there would be more games against high quality opponents, which would help determine who the best teams are.”
Yeah, I know. The first reaction among nose-in-the-air media traditionalists is how ridiculous that idea is.
But is it, really?
Sankey should pay real close attention and look at SEC history.
In 1990 the new commissioner of the SEC had what everyone thought was a completely insane idea. And I mean EVERYONE.
“That damn thing will kill anybody in the SEC ever winning a national title again,” ABC’s Keith Jackson told me in 1991.
Gene Stallings, then the coach at Alabama, said pretty much the same thing. His comments require more cleaning up than Jackson’s.
Yep, back when Kramer announced the SEC would go to two divisions and play a championship game the first weekend in December, most of the people inside the league thought it was the most insane idea they’d ever heard.
When the SEC went to 12 teams by adding Arkansas and South Carolina, everybody played eight league games. There five opponents from your own division, two permanent cross-over opponents and everybody else rotated.
Under that formula, there were additional rivalries building. For example, the Razorbacks and Tennessee had the makings of a pretty good rivalry developing until the league went from two permanent opponents from the other division to just one.
Now the league is beset by teams scheduling as few Power 5 opponents as possible. The Hogs got a great deal by Michigan dropping the series in 2018-19, then getting a waiver to not have to schedule a game against a big boy non-conference foe.
Chad Morris secretly is probably thankful.
Let’s face it, nobody plays more than a couple of non-conference opponents each year that really do anything for the fans or television.
Nick is right. Going to a 10-game conference schedule each year would make every game on the schedule a big-time sellout. At Arkansas, for example, would more tickets (and interest) be for a game in November against Tennessee than, say, Tulsa?
Athletic directors will complain it would likely cost them a couple of home dates every year. Maybe so, but there’s a way to make up that lost revenue.
Under the 10-game setup, each team would get five home games. This year the Hogs only have four. Even if playing Texas A&M in Arlington continued (which I doubt because A&M already wants out of that deal), Arkansas would still have the same number of league games at home, plus a more attractive non-conference game.
But the key part of this is what Nick didn’t address and it would make up for a game or two in lost revenue.
It gives the SEC an attractive carrot for a renegotiation of the television deals.
The SEC is not happy about ESPN’s buddying-up with the ACC for their network that starts next year. Some inside the league have told us there was an understanding when the deal for the SEC Network was created that ESPN wouldn’t do a similar deal with another conference.
To lock up the biggest league in a schedule that would be 75-83% all-league games and no outside opponents from weak sisters, you can bet ESPN would sit down and discuss an extension to the existing deal and the money goes even higher.
Oh, this idea probably won’t happen.
Coaches will kick and scream about it just like they did when the conference championship game started back in 1992. The athletic directors initially will be against it.
But the revenue numbers would be off the chart.
And don’t worry about the rest of the Power 5 conferences.
The SEC is the leader. What they do where “it just means more” is usually copied by every other league … sooner or later.
But if you think the SEC is big now in college football, it would be unreal going to a schedule like this.
Nick is right that it would be better for the fans and, eventually, all of college football. Want more than four teams in the College Football Playoff? This would get you there.
Oh, and the money would be even bigger.
Which is the key to this becoming more than water-cooler chatter during the talking season.
Whaley, Hayden on preseason list for Doak Walker Award
DALLAS — The PwC SMU Athletic Forum released Wednesday the preseason candidates for the 2018 Doak Walker Award.
The Forum annually presents the award to the nation’s top college running back.
Arkansas running backs Devwah Whaley and Chase Hayden are among 62 running backs on this year’s preseason list, making the Razorbacks one of just three programs with a pair of players featured on the list.
Whaley, a junior, started 11 of 12 games played last season. He finished as the team’s second leading rusher with 559 yards and seven touchdowns on 127 carries and caught eight passes for 56 yards and a score.
A native of Beaumont, Texas, Whaley scored a touchdown rushing or receiving in each of the last six regular season games.
Hayden will enter his sophomore season after rushing for 326 yards and four touchdowns on 61 attempts in seven games played in 2017.
He became one of only three Arkansas true freshmen to rush for 100 yards or more in his Razorback debut when he tallied a game-high 120 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries in last year’s season opener.
The PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will name ten semifinalists in November, and three finalists, as voted on by the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee, will be announced on Nov. 20.
The committee will cast a second vote beginning Nov. 26 to determine the recipient. The National Selection Committee consists of past recipients, former NFL All-Pro and college All-America running backs, media members and selected special representatives.
The recipient of the 2018 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 6 on ESPN.
The award, which will name its 29th recipient in 2018, is named for three-time All-America running back Doak Walker.
It is the only major collegiate award that requires all candidates to be in good academic standing and on schedule to graduate within one year of other students of the same classification.
Martin off team; Morris doubts he’ll return in January
Brandon Martin will not be on the Arkansas roster due to academic issues.
Coach Chad Morris addressed the issue with Arkansas media after doing the big room at SEC Media Days in Atlanta on Tuesday.
“Right now, where he is today, he’s not a part of our roster,” Morris told the much smaller group of reporters. “Academic issues. Don’t know if he will become part of our roster again. I don’t know that at this point. And that’s where we are with Brandon.”
One media report a couple of weeks ago had Martin planning to rejoin the team in January, but Morris dismissed that.
“I do not see that happening right now,” Morris said.
Junior college signees Rakeem Boyd and Dorian Gerald are expected to join the Razorbacks soon, according to Morris.
He also addressed the DUI arrest of wide receiver Michael Woods over the weekend in Fayetteville.
“Actions of a few impact many and his actions impacted a lot of people,” Morris said. “With that, there’s an accountability and consequences for every decision that’s made, good and bad.
“We’ll build on that and move forward and at the right time, we’ll gather all the information and put the final synopsis out there.”
The Hogs will officially report to fall camp August 2 and begin practices the next day.
Social media notes, news on Hogs at SEC Media Days
It’s always a busy day when the Razorbacks go to SEC Media days and their appearance in Atlanta on Tuesday was no different.
Here’s what you may have missed on social media:
Razorback Football on Twitter
ONE ARKANSAS. https://t.co/qeBIeegb4H
Razorback Football on Twitter
Razorback Football on Twitter
https://t.co/cat8p0uc2V
Razorback Football on Twitter
Fantastic time in the ATL for #SECMD18. Here’s our 20 best shots from throughout the day ⤵️
Razorback Football on Twitter
Razorback Football on Twitter
https://t.co/l7PuECiYl4
Razorback Football on Twitter
Razorback Football on Twitter
https://t.co/6F2IEWe6cb
Sean Tuohy Jr. on Twitter
The entire @RazorbackFB family after eating that @deadendbbq @championsmokers @lottabullbbq: ????????????????
Razorback Football on Twitter
Fantastic time in the ATL for #SECMD18. Here’s our 20 best shots from throughout the day ⤵️
Razorback Football on Twitter
Razorback Football on Twitter
https://t.co/KlZkrzik65
Razorback Football on Twitter
Razorback Football on Twitter
https://t.co/vtOndDSVLp
Chad Morris on Twitter
I’m just trying to get on your level @sramirez_9! https://t.co/9x2b0KbqgI
John Nabors ???????? on Twitter
Not bad. https://t.co/yrH6k35lIk
John J Chavis on Twitter
Got my boys from @championsmokers and @lottabullbbq on the Hill smoking some meat for our @RazorbackFB boys. 6-time-world champions, best in the world – because BEST is our standard. Ready to eat!! ????
Southeastern Conference on Twitter
????️THE HOGS ARE HERE #SECMD18
Razorback Football on Twitter
KNOW the footprint.” https://t.co/Kx5iKpgOoe
santos ramirez on Twitter
SEC Media Day baby! dressed to impress ????????
John Nabors ???????? on Twitter
Tonight’s event ????
Kamren Curl on Twitter
???????? https://t.co/rjCBUCLUGI
Southeastern Conference on Twitter
Some feet heat from @DreGreenlaw ????
SEC Radio Network on Twitter
What does @RazorbackFB mean to Arkansas? Fayetteville kid @DreGreenlaw explains… “It means so much. Unless you’re in the state of Arkansas and grew up there, you really don’t understand how much. They’re watching us, and we can’t disappoint them.” #WPS #SECMD18 https://t.co/87tImlPNia
Paul Finebaum on Twitter
LIVE NOW: @coachchadmorris joins me on @SECNetwork & @ESPNRadio #SECMD18 Watch: https://t.co/uci8aEnoUK
John Nabors ???????? on Twitter
I see you @DavidBazzel ???? @finebaum
Randy Ross on Twitter
Its an honor to represent the Razorbacks today with this special group of men. #WPS https://t.co/1Nxbis6hlB
Ryan Pu11ey ????〽️ on Twitter
???????????? https://t.co/z9glMUYjHh
Paula Morris on Twitter
Special place in heaven for teachers! #formerteacher #alwaysateacher https://t.co/2uw1TxQK51
John Nabors ???????? on Twitter
After talking with Chad Morris and asking him about how people have low expectations for them this year, I am thankful he didn’t tell me “pick us last and watch what happens.
CFB Hall of Fame on Twitter
Who else is excited to see @RazorbackFB?! ????#SECMD18 #ImaRealFan
SECMD18: New Hogs’ coach primarily a teacher
Arkansas coach Chad Morris at his first SEC Media Days talked about being a teacher and how important it is in coaching plus how the team is developing to new way of doing things.
SECMD18: Hogs’ safety on starting new tradition
Arkansas safety Santos Ramirez on Tuesday talked about starting a new tradition of winning with the Razorbacks and first-year coach Chad Morris.
SECMD18: Hogs’ linebacker on new look this season
Arkansas linebacker Dre Greenlaw talked at SEC Media Days in Atlanta on Tuesday about returning to the 4-3 and how the development has been with new coordinator John Chavis.
SECMD18: Hogs’ Froholdt on linemen adapting to offense
Arkansas offensive lineman Hjalte Froholdt talked at SEC Media Days in Atlanta on Tuesday about changing their style to the faster-paced offense being installed.
