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FAYETTEVILLE — The blown lead at Colorado State accelerated the downward spiral of Arkansas’ 2018 season, but there was one positive from the loss.

It served as a wake-up call for tight end Cheyenne O’Grady, who had to watch the collapse on television as he served a two-game suspension for violating team rules.

The former four-star recruit got his first playing time of the season the following week and made the travel squad for the Auburn game before becoming the Razorbacks’ top target over the final eight games of the season.

His 30 receptions were tied for the most on the team, while he ranked second with 400 receiving yards. He also tied for fourth among SEC tight ends with six touchdowns.

“After missing that second game, it was really hard just sitting at home and watching,” O’Grady told reporters last October. “That’s not what I came here to do. Something just clicked and it didn’t feel right.”

O’Grady also missed the first game this season against Portland State because he wasn’t fully healed from arthroscopic knee surgery during fall camp.