Arkansas spring football names to watch

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The Arkansas Razorbacks will begin their spring football schedule Thursday with the first of 15 practices. The 15th practice will be the annual Red-White Game on April 15 inside Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

With spring football comes the opportunity for some guys to make a strong impression on the coaching staff going into the summer.

There are more than 20 new scholarship players on the roster this spring, and plenty of them can make their name known the Razorback fans soon. Though there are a lot of new faces, some returning players have the opportunity to take the next step with a strong spring showing.

Here's a few names to keep an eye on as spring practice starts Thursday:

Injuries on the defensive line led to Davillier seeing more run than he probably expected during fall camp prior to last season, but it benefited him with experience. He only played 13 snaps on defense in 2022 and he was a regular with the field goal block group on special teams.

Entering spring ball as a sophomore, Davillier has the chance to move up the ranks in a defensive line group that is shifting from a primarily three-man front to a four-man front.

Head coach Sam Pittman mentioned Davillier's name as one that he'd like to see work in at the weakside defensive end position.

"I think Nico Davillier is doing a good job there," Pittman said Tuesday. "Landon Jackson has done a really good job there. And of course, we recruited John Morgan kind of in that role. So, we'll see what happens, but I think we have that person or people on our team that can play that spot. I think that's probably the biggest question mark going into spring ball is who that guy's going to be because we're pretty comfortable with the rest of the guys."

Pittman also mentioned that Davillier has gotten bigger from the 270 pounds that he weighed in at last season.

A native of Maumelle, Davillier was a 5.8 four-star prospect in the 2022 class. He played defensive tackle and defensive end in high school, and he also saw a few snaps as a wildcat quarterback, so he has the athleticism to be more of a stand up/boundary pass rusher.

With new offensive coordinator Dan Enos calling the plays, the tight end position should be utilized more than it has been over the past three seasons under former offensive coordinator Kendal Briles.

Arkansas has just three scholarship tight ends on the roster this spring — Washington, super senior Nathan Bax and freshman Luke Hasz. A redshirt freshman, Washington has the opportunity to carve out a significant role for the 2023 season.

Bax is a veteran guy, but hasn't particularly displayed the ability to be a strong pass catching tight end. Hasz is a four-star freshman, but there will likely be an adjustment period to the college level.

Washington told the coaches he wanted to redshirt last season after he saw action on special teams in the first four games of the year. A new NCAA rule allowed him to play in the 55-53 Liberty Bowl win over Kansas, and he caught a 17-yard touchdown in the contest.

Pittman said Washington has improved since the end of the 2022 season.

"Tyrus Washington has had a really good off-season, working his tail off, working extremely hard," Pittman said.

A 5.7 three-star prospect from Leesburg, Georgia, Washington can make his case as the top pass catching tight end for the Hogs this spring. Hasz will provide tough competition during spring ball, and Bax could also prove that he's taken the next step in his game.

Arguably the MVP of Arkansas' spring practices last season, Carter suffered a torn ACL during the team's 'Spring Showcase' that took place inside the Walker Pavilion due to inclement weather.

After missing all of the 2022 season, Carter is now cleared to practice. Pittman said having Carter back is like adding a new transfer.

"Like we talked about with TC, it's like going out and getting a guy out of the portal since he wasn't here and knowing that he can play and knowing that he understands who we are and things of that nature," Pittman said.

Defensive tackle is a position that is pretty light for the Hogs entering spring ball, so Carter should have no problem assuming his starting role if all goes well. Pittman said the staff has been told to watch Carter closely to make sure there's no complications with the knee.

"We'll be smart with him and those things, but at the end of last spring I thought he was as good a defensive interior lineman as we had," Pittman said. "But Taurean is very, very strong, worked extremely hard and got cleared, and we expect him to have a really good spring. We will watch him to the fact that we might limit him a little bit in reps early. We'll have to wait and see."

The Hogs added a trio of talented transfer wide receivers that will look to earn roles on the first team in the spring.

Pittman said he thinks the team hit the jackpot with Tyrone Broden (Bowling Green), Andrew Armstrong (Texas A&M-Commerce) and Isaac TeSlaa (Hillsdale College).

"Again, they haven’t caught balls, but I’m talking about work ethic and ability with TeSlaa, and Broden and Armstrong," Pittman said. "I think all three of them are going to help us."

One thing that shouldn't be expected is for the three of them to be starters from day one. Pittman said he thinks he made a mistake by doing that with Oklahoma transfer receiver Jadon Haselwood last season.

"I believe that anybody that’s new, they need to earn a spot even if the whole team knows that they’re going to be the starter," Pittman said. "You’ve got to put them on the second or third team, somewhere in there. Last year, we did not do that with Haselwood. He was the only one. He came in and he was a starter. You know what? If we had waited a practice or two, he would have been the starter anyway, but we didn’t."

While the Razorbacks have some talented pass catchers that returned, such as Jaedon Wilson, Bryce Stephens, Sam Mbake and Isaiah Sategna, it's clear that they added the high-profile transfers for them to play a lot.

None of the three have played on the Power 5 level, and Broden is the only one that has played on the FBS level. While Pittman said he's not particularly worried about that factor, it will be interesting to see how each of them adjusts to SEC football.

Another candidate for the weakside defensive end role, Morgan transferred in from Pittsburgh for his final season of eligibility.

In 2021, Morgan posted a career-high 5.5 sacks and 26 tackles, including one pass deflection and and a forced fumble. His 2022 stats show a lower production, totaling 19 tackles and three sacks, but he also forced two fumbles last season.

Morgan's pass rush grade of 77.6 from Pro Football Focus last season would've been the highest of any Arkansas defensive lineman. Adding him was a big addition, especially when Jordan Domineck — who had the most sacks on the d-line last season for Arkansas — hit the portal and transferred to Colorado.

With his experience and proven success, Morgan should become a well-known name for Arkansas fans fairly soon.

Pittman raved about Crawford prior to last season and the 6-foot-5, 317 pound product of Carthage, Texas, saw some action throughout the season.

Crawford played 114 snaps for Arkansas last year, and he earned the start against LSU in place of the injured Dalton Wagner. He struggled quite a bit in that game, as did the entire Arkansas offensive line, but it was good experience.

After getting another start in the Liberty Bowl against Kansas, Crawford left the game just nine snaps in with an apparent injury.

Pittman said Crawford is healthy now, but he was unsure of whether or not he'd slot in as a guard or tackle.

"I think, to be honest with you, we still have to find out what he would do," Pittman said. "We've got (Joshua) Braun who came in, (Patrick) Kutas, (E'Marion) Harris, (Andrew) Chamblee -- those guys we've really got to figure out what our best five is and what positions they need to play. But he would have a chance to play both of them."

Arkansas lost three starters up front in left tackle Luke Jones, center Ricky Stromberg and right tackle Dalton Wagner. Right guard Beaux Limmer is going to slide over to center and left guard Brady Latham is back for another year.

Crawford is as good of candidate as anyone to earn a starting spot on the offensive line, but Pittman didn't sound like that's a given.

After a fairly successful freshman season in 2021, Johnson had his share of struggles as part of an often injured Arkansas defensive back group in 2022.

The Razorbacks brought in a pair of transfers from Baylor in cornerback Lorando "Snaxx" Johnson and safety Alfahiym Walcott, but Jayden Johnson has been here and can make an impact as a junior.

Often playing nickel for the Hogs last year, Johnson's 45.3 PFF grade was the lowest of any Arkansas defender. It will be interesting to see how the new defensive staff plans to use Johnson, as he has to skillset to be great, he just needs to be put in the right spot to succeed.

~ Antonio Grier - LB: Arkansas saw the departure of Drew Sanders and Bumper Pool at the linebacker position, so it needed to add someone with experience. Grier came in from South Florida and he is a very athletic linebacker that can make plays. He has a good shot to work with Chris Paul Jr. on the first team.

~ Cameron Ball - DT: Ball came on strong late in the 2022 season for Arkansas. He graded out well on PFF often last year and he's a prime candidate for a first team defensive tackle spot as redshirt sophomore.

~ Freshman DBs: There are five freshman defensive backs that will participate in spring football and each of them has the opportunity to help out the nation's worst pass defense from a year ago. Arkansas added the two Baylor transfers and signed Georgia transfer Jaheim Singletary, but the freshmen will be interesting to watch this spring.

~ Jordan Crook - LB: Crook started next to Paul in the Liberty Bowl. He doesn't have the experience that Grier has, but he can make his case to for first team reps as a sophomore this spring.

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