FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Now Arkansas goes into full preparation mode for the season.
They will be doing it with a rebuilt wide receiver corps, featuring a mix of new transfers and returning players after losing the team’s top six pass catchers from last year.
You might want to get a program just to know who’s out there on the field in what number, too. There are a lot of new faces.
Offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino said the receiver competition remains open as the team turns its attention to game preparation.
“It’ll probably be this week [it starts] working itself out a little bit more,” Petrino said. “You go into some situation work this week and game plan stuff and still go ones versus ones, so you get that competition.”
The Razorbacks added several transfers, including O’Mega Blake, Raylen Sharpe, Kam Shanks and Jalen Brown, to bolster depth and speed. Jalen Brown, a transfer from LSU, has earned praise from Petrino for his speed and improved understanding of the offense.
“J. Brown had a big day. I thought he felt good about it. He looked fast out there. And the thing about him is he is fast. So as long as he knows exactly what he’s doing, he’s going to play like that,” Petrino said.
Returners Monte Harrison and CJ Brown have also emerged as key options. Harrison, 30, spent a decade in professional baseball before walking on at Arkansas this summer.
Petrino said Harrison’s athleticism stands out.
“He just pops off the board and you’re going, ‘This is unbelievable how talented this young man is, or old man is.’ … But he is an unbelievable talent. Now he understands football. He’d been away from it for a long time, so he’s done a great job for us so far. We gotta keep it going,” Petrino said.
C.J. Brown, who saw limited action last season as a freshman, has impressed Petrino with his versatility and preparation.
“He started getting involved in the offense late in the season,” Petrino said. “Right now, he’s playing two different positions for us and his skill set, his quickness is really good inside, but he also has the really nice speed and routes that he can hit on the outside. The quarterbacks feel good about where you’re going to be on the deep throw, so he’s going to have a good year for us.”
The Razorbacks are also counting on Shanks, a 5-foot-8 transfer from UAB, for both special teams and matchup advantages at receiver.
“He’s little, but he doesn’t play little,” Petrino said. “He doesn’t play little because he can elevate and turn his body. Short guys that can’t jump and turn in the air are hard targets to hit, but you can actually throw him open and he’s able to elevate and turn and make those catches.”
Blake, a graduate transfer, has been limited in opportunities but remains in the mix. Sharpe, who has dealt with injuries, could return to add further depth as the season progresses.
Arkansas quarterbacks, including Boise State transfer Taylen Green, are working to build chemistry with the new-look receiver group as the team prepares for its season opener against Alabama A&M on Aug. 30.
Projected depth charts list O’Mega Blake, CJ Brown, and Raylen Sharpe as likely starters, with Kam Shanks, Monte Harrison and Jalen Brown providing additional options.
Coaches have indicated that the receiver rotation is still evolving with several practices remaining before kickoff.
Petrino, in his second season of his current stint with the Razorbacks, said the focus is on building consistency and timing in the passing game after a year of transition at the position.
“It’s nice to have [Shanks] back out there because we need the time with the quarterbacks working with him to understand where he’s going to be, what his quickness gives us, because he’s super quick, and he’s a hard matchup because of that quickness,” Petrino said.
Now they’ve just got to get it all to work in a game.
The season opens Aug. 30 against Alabama A&M at 3:15 p.m. The game will be televised on SEC Network.
