HawgBeat Camp Notebook: Briles, Odom discuss depth at various positions

FAYETTEVILLE — One of the positions that has yet to see a player emerge as a starter at Arkansas is tight end.

Head coach Sam Pittman has said a couple of times in the past week that he’s still not sure who will start against Georgia on Sept. 26 and offensive coordinator Kendal Briles confirmed that sentiment Wednesday.

“We’ve got a host of guys that are playing that position and getting a lot of reps and those guys are all progressing,” Briles said. “I don’t think we’ve found the guy yet. Hopefully Friday we’ll have somebody who separates.”

The Razorbacks are looking for someone who is physical enough to finish blocks and versatile enough to split out wide and be a threat in the passing game, while also being smart enough to think and react quickly because the tight end isn’t always told exactly what to do.

Briles mentioned that are three or four guys they feel “decently good” about playing, but they’re still waiting for someone to separate from the group.

Redshirt freshman Hudson Henry is the presumed No. 1 guy, especially considering he caught a couple of touchdowns with the first unit in last week’s scrimmage, but Blake Kern, Nathan Bax and Blayne Toll are also in the mix.

QB Reps

A few days before the start of camp, Briles told reporters that the starting quarterback job was Feleipe Franks’ to lose.

Even though Pittman has yet to officially name him QB1, it’s still Franks’ job to lose and he’ll get all of the snaps with the first-team offense in Friday’s scrimmage, Briles said.