FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas held its fifth spring practice Thursday evening with the first scrimmage coming Saturday.
The team had some good moments in the early portion of the practice. Maybe none better than wide receiver Jamari Hawkins' diving catch of a KJ Jackson pass. Jackson threw the ball low, but Hawkins, who transferred from Memphis, went down to grab it, hit the ground and hang on for the reception. Larry Smith is Arkansas' new wide receiver's coach and knows Hawkins is capable of great catches having coached him at Memphis in recent seasons.
"Yeah, so we talk about this and Jamari and I joke about this all the time," Smith said. "This was, coach (Mitch Stewart) you might have been with us. Two years ago we were at the previous place and Jamari said, ‘Coach, I don’t feel like I belong here at the University of Memphis. I don’t think I’m good enough.’ Just a little background, Jamari redshirted his freshman year there and I got to Memphis in 2023 and that was going into Jamari’s second year there and his role on offense wasn’t as big, but he found a role on special teams. As his role increased on special teams, so did his role on offense. His third year was productive for us. He was an amazing gunner. Jammer for us. Started for us on kickoffs. As he got going, confidence started building up for him and his role increased. And then this past year he had a career year for himself with over 600 yards receiving and a couple of touchdowns. He was still excelling on special teams. So just seeing his growth over the previous three years, it’s very pleasing to see him when two years ago he had no confidence in himself, but now you look at him and ‘Bro, now you’re in the SEC.’
"You touched on why he was in the front of the line, he understands how the drills are. He understands him now being a senior and taking himself and putting himself in that leadership position, which is something he wasn’t accustomed to doing because he always felt like he was a guy in the back of the line. But seeing his growth and maturity has been very pleasing."
Hawkins caught 38 passes for 623 yards and two touchdowns at Memphis last season. Smith needs all the production he can get after O'Mega Blake and Raylen Sharpe are out of eligibility.
"It’s kind of tough when you lose O’Mega and Raylen, guys who were very productive for you last year," Smith said. "Then there was an injury bug that happened last year in the receiver room with Monte, we call him Unc, Harrison, had his foot, then Ish (Cisse) with the wrist last year and then JB (Jalen Brown) obviously, then Antonio Jordan, so you’re looking at four guys you kind of expected to really have productive years for you who weren’t able to play the full season. Just having those guys come back I think was huge and then also just needs.
"We needed some size on the outside, we needed some speed, as well, and we needed some guys who were productive. Chris (Marshall) obviously has the size for us. Donny Faupel was a guy who was very productive at New Mexico State, and then we got Jamari over from Memphis, a guy who’s very experienced, but another guy who’s very familiar with the system and just the overall culture, as well. So we’re just trying to mix and mingle, trying to figure out the needs and pick and plug certain guys in the room."
Arkansas will have a closed scrimmage Saturday morning. The spring game is set for Saturday, April 25, at 2 p.m.
