Where was TE Cheyenne O'Grady vs. Mississippi State?
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UPDATE: Cheyenne O'Grady sent the following tweet at 8:14 p.m. Saturday.
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas was without one of its best offensive weapons against Mississippi State and might be the rest of the year, as well.
Tight end Cheyenne O’Grady was suspended for Saturday's 54-24 blowout loss and sources have indicated to HawgBeat that he is no longer on the team.
Head coach Chad Morris declined to go into detail about O'Grady when pressed by the media after the game, saying only, "We’ll meet tomorrow."
The suspension stems from the fifth-year senior missing multiple meetings the week leading up to Saturday's game, according to sources. Barring an unforeseen development, his career with the Razorbacks is likely over.
This news comes after O'Grady sent a cryptic tweet Thursday night indicating his time at Arkansas had come to an end.
Through the first eight games of the season, O’Grady led the team in all three major receiving categories with 33 receptions for 372 yards and three touchdowns. He came into the weekend ranked behind only Florida’s Kyle Pitts among SEC tight ends in catches and receiving yards, despite playing in one fewer game.
That was on the heels of a junior season in which he tied for the team lead with 30 catches, ranked second with 400 yards and a team-high six touchdowns - all in the final eight games of the year.
An 8-yard touchdown against Alabama last week gave O'Grady 12 career touchdowns, breaking the UA record for a tight end previously held by Jeremy Sprinkle. Incredibly, those 12 touchdowns were thrown by six different quarterbacks - Ty Storey (5), Cole Kelley (3), Austin Allen (1), Ben Hicks (1), Nick Starkel (1) and John Stephen Jones (1).
O’Grady is considered one of the best NFL Draft prospects at tight end, but this is not the first time he has been disciplined during his tenure with the Razorbacks.
Although the official explanation from the UA was that he didn’t play in the opener because he wasn’t fully healed from arthroscopic knee surgery during the second week of fall camp, head coach Chad Morris said “he’ll be ready to go Saturday” just a few days before the game and sources told HawgBeat that he missed the game because of a suspension.
O'Grady also missed the first quarter of the Colorado State win. The official word from Arkansas was that he was held out with strep throat, but he then played the rest of the game, catching three passes for 74 yards and a touchdown.
Last season, O’Grady was suspended for the first two games of the season for an undisclosed violation of team rules. A tweet by linebacker Dre Greenlaw - who also played with him at Fayetteville High - seemed to indicate it was due to him skipping workouts and class.
He also had off-field issues under previous head coach Bret Bielema. A four-star recruit and the No. 2 tight end in the Class of 2015, O’Grady was arrested on suspicion of DWI about a week before the season opener his freshman year.
After redshirting that season, O’Grady was in and out of Bielema’s doghouse the next two seasons. He appeared in only 19 of 25 games - with one start - while catching 24 passes for 195 yards and three touchdowns.
In his absence, the Razorbacks leaned on Grayson Gunter, Chase Harrell and even true freshman Hudson Henry, who made his debut in the loss. The trio combined for three receptions and 27 yards against the Bulldogs, with each catching one pass.