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Alex Collins has yet to declare his intentions to return to Arkansas or test the NFL Draft waters. It’s safe to assume that if the junior running back – and second all-time leading rusher in Razorback history – returns to Fayetteville, he’d be the hands-down best player on the Hogs. Heck, perhaps even the best in the SEC.
For the sake of argument, let’s assume that Collins takes his 3,870 career all-purpose yards and 20 touchdowns to the NFL. He’d follow tight end Hunter Henry and left tackle Denver Kirkland, who announced their professional intentions shortly after the start of the year.
With other players such as quarterback Brandon Allen, left guard Sebastian Tretola and center Mitch Smothers all lost to graduation, Arkansas could have a starkly different, albeit somewhat familiar, look next season.
Here’s a look at five (or so) of the best players returning in 2016:
Drew Morgan, WR, Junior – Morgan returns to Fayetteville as the SEC’s incumbent touchdown leader among wide receivers with 10 scores on the year. The junior led Arkansas with 843 yards while filling in as the Hogs’ No. 1 receiver during the absence of the injured Keon Hatcher. Morgan was quarterback Brandon Allen’s go-to guy — particularly in the Razorbacks upset of Ole Miss, in which the Greenwood, Ark., native hauled in 122 yards and three touchdowns. Two of his scoring grabs went for overtime winners, against the Rebels and versus Auburn in a four-overtime instant classic.
Brooks Ellis, LB, Junior – Brooks Ellis is the leader of the Arkansas defense, both emotionally and statistically. The junior tallied a team-high 102 tackles this season and finished tied for second on the squad with 8.0 tackles-for-loss. The junior rises in big games, specifically against Alabama. Ellis posted a career-high 15 tackles against the Crimson Tide, including personal bests with 13 solo tackles and 2.5 sacks. His previous high for solo tackles was 7 take-downs. The linebacker serves as a mentor at the position to freshman Dre Greenlaw, a fellow Fayetteville High School alum.
Jeremiah Ledbetter, DE, Junior/Deatrich Wise Jr., DE, Junior – Strong side defensive linemen Jeremiah Ledbetter and Deatrich Wise Jr. share this listing, as it’s still not a certainty that either junior will be back in Fayetteville next fall. Should both return for their senior years, the Arkansas rush defense could be a formidable unit, even with the graduation of defensive tackle DeMarcus Hodge. It’s not likely, but if Ledbetter and Wise Jr. split town, Razorback defensive coordinator Robb Smith will have a task of replacing three starters along the defensive line that accrued a combined 114 tackles, 26.0 tackles-for-loss and 11.0 sacks this year. Wise Jr. led the Hogs with 10.5 tackles-for-loss and 8.0 sacks, fifth-most in the SEC. Ledbetter made the most of his first year in Fayetteville after transferring from Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, racking up 55 tackles (7.5 for loss) and 2.0 sacks.
Jeremy Sprinkle, TE, Junior – Head coach Bret Bielema and offensive coordinator Dan Enos have shown a proclivity for utilizing tight ends in their schemes as Hunter Henry earned this season’s Mackey Award as the best at his position. Henry and his 739 yards and three touchdowns are off to the NFL a year early, ceding the Hogs’ starting tight end position to Jeremy Sprinkle. A fellow junior, it was actually Sprinkle who tied wide receiver Dominique Reed for second on the team with six touchdown catches — the most scoring grabs among all SEC tight ends. Sprinkle’s 389 yards would make him the leading tight end on every other team in the SEC, save for Ole Miss (Evan Engram, 464 yards), South Carolina (Jerell Adams, 421 yards) and Alabama (O.J. Howard, 394 yards). It could be argued that without Henry, Sprinkle could have easily been a viable Mackey Award candidate. Whoever replaces Brandon Allen at quarterback will have the luxury of a 6-foot, 6-inch, 255-pound sure-handed target.
Keon Hatcher, WR, Redshirt Senior – A football game wasn’t the only thing Arkansas lost to Toledo in Week 2. The other was the Razorbacks’ leading receiver, Keon Hatcher, to a broken fifth metatarsal late in the 16-12 loss to the Rockets. After leading the Hogs in receiving during his junior campaign in 2014 with 558 yards and six touchdowns, Hatcher was poised to break out this year — and that was before we knew the type of year quarterback Brandon Allen (3,440 yards, 30 TDs) had. In his two games before being lost for the season, Hatcher caught 13 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Of those yards, 18 of them came on the broken foot, admitted the Owasso, Okla., native. The senior adds incredible depth to an Arkansas wide receiving corps that has to enter the 2016 season as the deepest unit in the SEC. Hatcher will team up with the likes of Drew Morgan (843 yards, 10 TDs), Dominique Reed (535 yards, 6 TDs) and Jared Cornelius (393 yards, 3 TDs). That pass-catching fraternity also includes tight end Jeremy Sprinkle and his 389 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns. Competition for passes will be fierce, but as Bielema and Enos proved this year, there is enough offense to go around for just about everyone in Fayetteville. Arkansas saw 18 players either rush the ball or catch a pass this season, 10 of whom did both.
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
