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HawgBeat is counting down the 10 most important Arkansas players for the upcoming 2021 season. Links to previous players in the list will be included below.

Despite not playing much at Arizona State, Trelon Smith received quite a bit of praise during his NCAA-required redshirt year in 2019. The previous staff even referred to him as the “scout team Heisman.”

Led by first-year head coach Sam Pittman, the Razorbacks’ current staff also liked what they saw from Smith leading up to last season. It just wasn’t clear what kind of role he’d have with Rakeem Boyd returning to Arkansas for his senior year.

However, injuries and ineffectiveness led to Smith eventually overtaking Boyd as the Razorbacks’ top running back. Given the No. 1 reps, he ran with the opportunity - literally.

Smith ended up finishing the 2020 season with 710 yards and five touchdowns on 134 carries against an all-SEC schedule. Had it been a regular 12-game season with non-conference games, plus a bowl game, he would have had a legitimate shot at a 1,000-yard season.

Although he caught only 22 passes for 159 yards, Smith showed he was also a weapon in the passing game last year. No game displayed his versatility better than the loss to Auburn, in which he ran for 81 yards and also racked up 78 yards - and his lone receiving touchdown - on six receptions.

Now that he is clearly the No. 1 running back on the team, it will be interesting to see how Arkansas uses Smith in 2021. Listed at 5-foot-9, 190 pounds, he’s not your stereotypical between-the-tackles SEC running back.

The Razorbacks would probably like to see someone like Dominique Johnson (6-1, 240) or Rocket Sanders (6-2, 220) step up and be a complementary back capable of converting third-and-short situations, but Smith is almost certainly going to be the top playmaker at the position.

T.J. Hammonds is back for a sixth season thanks to the pandemic eligibility relief and has a similar build and skillset as Smith, but he’s been far too inconsistent to be someone Arkansas can count on as the No. 1 running back. There’s also track star Josh Oglesby, but he’s even smaller and has yet to play a snap of college football because of a season-ending injury suffered in fall camp last year.

Considering most teams will be focused on covering Treylon Burks, Smith could be the ultimate safety net for first-year starting quarterback KJ Jefferson in the passing game and a home run threat in the run game.

10. Montaric Brown - CB
9. Ricky Stromberg - C
8. Trelon Smith - RB
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