Arkansas Football Preseason Outlook: Receivers/Tight Ends

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson’s top four targets in terms of receiving yards and touchdown catches in 2022 are no longer with the Razorbacks.
Matt Landers (901 yards, 8 TDs) and Jadon Haselwood (702, 3) have begun their professional careers, and Ketron Jackson (277, 3) and Trey Knox (296, 5) transferred to Baylor and South Carolina, respectively. The team’s leading returning wide receiver is Bryce Stephens, who caught 9 passes for 109 yards and 1 touchdown last fall.
Arkansas’ tight ends outside of Knox combined for 8 receptions, 60 yards and 1 touchdown in 2022.
In steps a new crop of playmakers who are aiming to keep the Razorbacks’ offense rolling and make Year 1 under new coordinator Dan Enos a success. Three transfers — Isaac TeSlaa (Hillsdale (Mich.) College), Andrew Armstrong (Texas A&M-Commerce) and Tyrone Broden (Bowling Green) — highlight the newcomers on the perimeter, and Sam Pittman is high on them despite an overall lack of Division I experience.
Broden, who was injured most of the spring, had two 500-plus yard seasons at Bowling Green prior to joining Arkansas. TeSlaa and Armstrong had strong spring showings and could be go-to pieces.
Keep an eye on former Fayetteville High School standout Isaiah Sategna, a star in the final spring scrimmage. He had 3 grabs for 95 yards and 2 touchdowns when no other pass catcher had more than 41 receiving yards. Other young receivers who could factor in include Sam Mbake, Jaedon Wilson and freshman Davion Dozier. Wilson broke his leg in a spring-time car accident.
There is great potential in the tight ends room, which Enos plans to take advantage of and is under the leadership of assistant coach Morgan Turner, who arrived in December from Stanford. Var’Keyes Gumms (North Texas) and Francis Sherman (Louisville) are transfer portal additions. Ty Washington returns following a nice finish to 2022, and veteran Nathan Bax is back as well.
Freshman Luke Hasz had a quality spring and earned consistent praise. Shamar Easter, a consensus 4-star prospect at the position, bolsters depth after arriving on campus this summer.