The Arkansas football team is no stranger to top-tier tight ends and the Razorbacks could have their next star, as sophomore Luke Hasz is the highest-graded returner at the position in the SEC ahead of the 2024-25 season according to Pro Football Focus.
Coming in with an 89.5 overall receiving grade, Hasz finds himself at the top of the league list in players with a minimum of 200 snaps above names like Oklahoma's Bauer Sharp (75.5), South Carolina's Joshua Simon (72.8), Ole Miss' Dae'quan Wright (72.7), Texas' Amari Niblack (72.0), Tennessee's Holden Staes (70.6), Ole Miss' Caden Prieskorn (70.5), Missouri's Brett Norfleet (70.2), Oklahoma's Jake Roberts (68.7) and Georgia's Benjamin Yurosek (67.8).
For reference, former Georgia standout tight end Brock Bowers finished with a receiving grade of 87.1 last season for the Bulldogs. He was picked 13th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft after catching 56 passes for 714 yards and six touchdowns. Pretty good company, no?
Hasz was named a Freshman All-American by the College Football Network after catching 16 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns in five games for the Hogs last season.
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Oklahoma native's season was cut short after suffering a season-ending broken clavicle injury against Texas A&M in Week 5, but the elite pass-catcher is primed for a breakout year after an important offseason.
"I think where he’s improved is his route running," head coach Sam Pittman said on March 8. "He rounded some things off a year ago, I think he’s improved that. I really like what they did in (individuals), Coach (Morgan) Turner did a really good job in indy, they’re playing more physical. If you had a knock on Luke, it would be his run blocking, which I really didn’t. But, he’s gotten better there too. He’s playing with an extremely high amount of confidence."
After adapting to a reworked offense under offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, Hasz will be a staple of Arkansas' passing attack and should be a favorite of new quarterback Taylen Green.
"It’s been awesome," Hasz said on March 12. "It’s been really exciting just to learn from (Petrino's) perspective, what he’s going to do with the tight ends and just the offense in general. Having (Var'Keyes Gumms) back and Andreas (Paaske) coming is going to be really good for us. He’s (Petrino) been great and I think he’s going to be really good for us as tight ends and also for the team.
"I like just being able to hear (Green), not even, he’s obviously a leader in the field, but in the locker room he’s very vocal and we’re just talking about each other’s lives. I just think his leadership is tremendous compared to any other quarterback that I’ve had. I just love everything about it."
Hasz and the Hogs will begin fall camp in early August before opening their season against the UAPB Golden Lions on Aug. 29 at War Memorial Stadium.
