Although Arkansas didn’t go into Death Valley and come out with a win, there are still positives to take away from the game.
One of those positives is the play of true freshman tight end Luke Hasz, who is quickly becoming a focal point in the Razorback offense.
The Bixby, Oklahoma, native recorded six receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns in the 34-31 loss at LSU on Saturday evening. He also caught a two-point conversion to tie the game up at 24-24. Both scores came in the fourth quarter in crunch time to keep the Razorbacks in the game.
“Oh man, tremendous game,” quarterback KJ Jefferson said of Hasz. “Just him being in the right place at the right time. When I do break the pocket, he makes sure he’s working scramble rules and me finding him. It was a great job by him working up the field. Me finding him and him making great catches.
“On the last touchdown, we knew that was a big touchdown and he came through. Just shoutout to him. He’s maturing, he’s growing. In clutch situations, I can count on him.”
The first of Hasz’s two touchdowns was a 59-yard strike with the Hogs down 24-16. He got behind the defense while Jefferson rolled to his right, giving Arkansas much-needed momentum in the fourth quarter.
“I know that no matter what, KJ is going to make the play last long, so I’ve got to do whatever I can to get open for him,” Hasz said. “Because he’s a big quarterback, he’s 250-plus pounds, so he’s not going to come down easy. Just being able to realize he’s going to make chances for me to scramble and get open. He connected with me and I was super excited for it.”
Hasz performed well in a hostile environment for someone who was playing high school football in Oklahoma a year ago. He said coming into Saturday’s game it was just business as usual.
“It was definitely a great experience,” Hasz said. “I knew coming in here it was going to be a good atmosphere. I just go about every game, I just have to play like it’s a normal game. That’s exactly what happened.”
Arkansas will head home and prepare for a trip to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to face the Texas A&M Aggies next Saturday. That game will kick off at 11 a.m. CT and air on ESPN or SEC Network.
