Nate Allen
Fayetteville - Injured at the outset and periodically exiting from last the game at Alabama which he finished assisted from the field clobbered at the close of Arkansas’ onside kick, Treylon Burks startled his Razorbacks coaches Sunday in Fayetteville almost as much as he startled Alabama Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
Even while absorbing some hellacious hits, junior receiver Burks caught eight passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns in Arkansas’ close but no cigar, 42-35 SEC West loss to the nationally No. 2 Crimson Tide.
Sunday night when he assuredly craved recovery time, Burks was back at it as the bowl bound, 7-4. 3-4 in the SEC Razorbacks finish their SEC season in Friday’s 2:30 p.m. CBS televised game against the bowl bound, 6-5, 3-4 Missouri Tigers at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
“He practiced yesterday,” Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman said during his Monday press conference. He's sore - but I believe he'll be fine."
Pittman not only was gratified to see Burks practice at all but see his Hogs practice so well Sunday after giving their all in Saturday’s titanic Tuscaloosa tussle.
“In all honesty, we were surprised,” Pittman said Monday. “The practice was outstanding. We're electing this week to go in spiders (no pads) the entire week. That was not the case until yesterday's practice. Because of the speed of practice last night, I felt like we could get our work done, heal up a little bit and make sure that we get our best players to Friday at 2:30. The kids surprised me by how ready they were to go out and practice."
Sunday’s practice and the remaining workouts through Thursday’s largely will be devoted against the “stretch play” that Mizzou running back Tyler Badie runs so well.
Badie’s 1,385 yards on 227 carries leads the SEC and ranks fourth nationally. And he’s Mizzou’s leading receiver, 53 catches for 335 yards.
”Tyler Badie’s tearing it up,” Pittman said. “He’s shifty, fast, sees the field really well. He'll cut back on you. He stays on track on that stretch play they run until the last minute. It doesn't seem like he ever has a bad read. They use him a lot throwing the ball to him. He's got a really good receiving ability. Just a tough kid and really having a great year."
As Arkansas’ final regular season game Friday marks Senior Day on the Frank Broyles Field at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
It won’t for at least one Razorback senior though. Because he’s among the all who played during the covid disrupted 2020 season and had the option restoring that season’s eligibility, 2021 senior offensive tackle Dalton Wagner can and will return to the 2022 Razorbacks.
“Dalton Wagner’s not going out there,” Pittman said of Senior Day ceremonies. “He said, ‘Coach, I told you I was going to come back and that’s what I’m going to do.’ I don’t know about the rest of them.”
The Razorbacks have several, including linebacker Bumper Pool and defensive tackle John Ridgeway and running back Trelon Smith, with options of joining Wagner as sixth-year seniors in 2022 like 11 did concluding their Razorbacks as sixth-year seniors in 2021.
As a 3-year player, Burks of Warren has the choice of turning professional after this star-studded season (59 catches for 975 yards and 10 touchdowns plus 12 rushes for 111 yards and a touchdown) or returning for a 2022 senior season.
“I haven’t had the chance to sit down and talk with him about the (NFL) information that I have,” Pittman said. “I will this week.”
While asserting he was not into taking a “moral victory,” for the 20-point underdog Razorbacks battling Alabama to down seven and an onside kick, Pittman admitted Monday he called the timeout on Arkansas’ final possession down 42-28 debating with himself whether to punt or go for it on fourth and 11 from Arkansas 34 fearing the Hogs’ noble effort could be tarnished by a deceptively bloated final score.
“All right, this is the truth,” Pittman replied to the question of him first sending the punt team on the field then calling time before quarterback KJ Jefferson completed the 16-yard pass to Trey Knox keeping alive the last touchdown drive. “We’d played such a good game, and we’re down on the 35, and we’re 14 down. And I go, ‘If we don’t make it, they’re going to score again, and there’s a chance they beat us by 21, and that’s not going to be the tell-tale.”
Then he remembered to practice what he preached.
“In that time when I sent the punt team out there versus the time that I called timeout, I said, ‘I ain’t giving these kids a chance to win,” Pittman said. “And if I do this they’re going to hold it against me, and I’m going to hold it against myself forever.’ No matter what the outcome is, we’ve got to play to win, and that’s exactly what happened.”