FAYETTEVILLE — Treylon Burks provided the offensive highlight of the day for Arkansas when he hauled in a pass and took it the distance for his first career touchdown Saturday night.
One of the Razorbacks’ few bright spots in a 37-10 loss to No. 4 Georgia, the sophomore posted career highs in receptions (7) and receiving yards (102). He also picked up three yards on a jet sweep, giving him 105 total yards of offense.
“He can win contested catches and he’s a special player, special kid, special person, special player,” head coach Sam Pittman said. “We have to continue to run him a little bit more and get the ball to him more.”
Almost half of Burks’ yards came on his first reception of 2020.
Lined up in the slot, he ran a corner route and got behind the Georgia defenders. Feleipe Franks rolled to his left and hit Burks around the 20-yard line. At that point, it was a foot race between him and preseason All-SEC safety Richard LeCounte.
Burks had about a step on him, though, and beat him to the end zone to give Arkansas an early 7-0 lead. It was a 49-yard play, making it the Razorbacks’ longest touchdown pass against an SEC team since Austin Allen hit Jordan Jones for a 59-yard score against Missouri in the 2017 finale.
Although there appeared to be a miscommunication between LeCounte and another defensive back, Georgia coach Kirby Smart said it wasn’t to blame for the long touchdown.
“I wouldn't call it a busted coverage as much as it was a good route against poor coverage,” Smart said. “Give Arkansas credit - they ran a scissors route and did a good job getting the guy open.”
It was the first touchdown of Burks’ career, as he failed to score during a standout freshman year in which he led all FBS freshmen in average yards per touch.
Considering the praise he consistently received in camp from coaches and teammates alike, it likely won’t be his last of the 2020 season.
“The touchdown grab he made and scored on was an exceptional play,” Pittman said. “I think that’ll be (a sign of) things to come, but we’ve got to target him more.”
Later in the game, Burks made a 27-yard reception by running back toward Franks as he scrambled outside of the pocket, setting the Razorbacks up at midfield.
Unfortunately, he followed up that play by forcing a throw into double coverage on a trick play that was intercepted. It was the only blemish on what was an otherwise great performance.
His seven receptions were two more than his previous high set against Western Kentucky, while his 102 yards were 10 more than his previous high set at LSU last season. It was the first 100-yard receiving game by an Arkansas player against an SEC opponent since Jones had 122 yards in the aforementioned Missouri game.
“He did a great job today getting open and it shows with his stats,” Franks said. “Treylon's a great player and he had a good game. He works his tail off, and that's exactly what we're going to do this week, is continue to work our tail off.”
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