FAYETTEVILLE — Trey Knox has encountered quite a bit of adversity this year.
The former four-star recruit who began his career with so much promise two years ago started the season by falling out of the two-deep, went through a position change and then dealt with an ankle injury.
However, now healthy again, it seems like Knox has come through all of it as a better player in position to help Arkansas down the stretch and beyond.
“You try not to ride those roller coaster emotions, you try to stay even keel and just try to play ball the best you can,” Knox said. “It's been pretty tough, but you've just got to keep pushing through it because eventually your time is going to come, and you've got to be able to answer the call."
With guys like Warren Thompson and Ketron Jackson Jr. moving ahead of him on the depth chart at wide receiver late in camp, Knox played just three snaps in the Razorbacks’ opener against Rice.
After that game, he approached the coaches about a proposed position change.
“It was really my idea,” Knox said. “I was like, 'Move me to tight end. I feel like I can be really good at tight end.’ I know I can block. Being the hybrid kind of guy, that's what a lot of NFL teams like.”
Considering how often such a move had been brought up on message boards and social media, the coaches had surely thought about it themselves, but head coach Sam Pittman said the fact it was Knox’s idea shows that he’s 100 percent bought in to the position change.
Especially in today’s age of the portal, when players - particularly highly recruited ones like Knox - transfer out at the first sign of adversity, Pittman said the move also says a lot about his character.
“I'm not saying a player can't reach his full potential if we moved him, because we certainly can, (but) I think because he wanted to do it, it was a much smoother transition and he made it work,” Pittman said. “I think he's going to be a really good tight end.”
Listed at 6-foot-5, 209 pounds in this year’s media guide and 215 pounds on the current online roster, Knox is big for a wide receiver, but small for a tight end.
It’s been a struggle because of how much running he does every day in practice, but Knox has been trying to add weight and is now up to 225, which is a big gain for in-season. Pittman said the goal is for him to get to at least 240 pounds during the offseason, with 250 being the ideal mark.
Even at his current size, Knox made some key blocks on screens against Mississippi State to help the Razorbacks get first downs. That’s a product of his natural skills, which will only continue to develop.
“If you're slim, to have success you have to use your hands well,” Pittman said. “Trey is tall and slender. He's really good and really powerful with his hands.”
It took some time for Knox to get to a point where the Arkansas coaches were comfortable playing him at his new position. He got 17 snaps against Georgia Southern, but played no more than six snaps against Texas, Texas A&M or Georgia.
Knox’s breakout game finally came against Ole Miss last month. He played 58 of 95 offensive snaps - more than starter Blake Kern - and caught his first touchdown since the Missouri game at the end of his freshman year in 2019.
Unfortunately, the junior from Tennessee suffered an ankle injury in that game. He managed to play one series the following week against Auburn and then didn’t play at all against UAPB.
Coming out of the open date, Knox’s ankle was healed up and he was back to full-go at practice. The result was playing 40 of 76 snaps against the Bulldogs, once again playing more than Kern (33 snaps), who started.
“He’s doing an excellent job out there,” quarterback KJ Jefferson said. “I’m very comfortable with him being out there, knowing he can create mismatches as far as being a flex tight end - we can put him at outside receiver or in the box.”
Knox’s receiving statistics don’t jump off the page, as he’s caught just nine passes for 63 yards and a touchdown, but he seems to be a nice security blanket for Jefferson.
Nearly half of his production has come on the Razorbacks’ drives at the end of their games at Ole Miss and against Mississippi State, with five receptions for 31 yards in the two-minute drill.
“I guess the two-minute drill just likes me,” Knox said with a smile. “They like throwing me the ball when it’s crunch time. I just have to make plays when there are plays to be made.”
Officially classified as a junior, Knox could potentially play two more seasons at Arkansas because of last year’s pandemic-related eligibility relief.
That is a lot of time for him to bulk up and continue to learn the tight end position. If he progresses like Pittman believes he will, Knox could end up playing on Sundays.
“He goes from an average wide receiver speed to a fast tight end,” Pittman said. “He’s really good with his hands, so once he gains that weight, I think he’s going to have a lot more power. I think he can be an NFL-type tight end.”