FAYETTEVILLE — Perhaps the most perplexing thing about Arkansas’ offense a quarter of the way through the season has been the lack of production from Luke Hasz.
Viewed as a legitimate contender for the Mackey Award after his standout, albeit injury-shortened, freshman campaign, the Bixby, Okla., native has just 6 receptions for 91 yards and one touchdown over the Razorbacks’ first four games.
At this point last season, Hasz had already caught 15 passes for 239 yards and three scores, with the biggest chunk of that production coming against Arkansas’ toughest opponents — BYU (4 rec., 78 yds., 1 TD) and LSU (6 rec., 116 yds., 2 TD).
Unfortunately, he broke his clavicle catching a 14-yard pass on the Razorbacks’ opening drive at AT&T Stadium, ending what was shaping up to be a Freshman All-America kind of season.
This year’s Southwest Classic once again here, with kickoff scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN, and Arkansas is still trying to get him involved in the passing game. That’s something head coach Sam Pittman addressed with offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino on Monday and they believe it could be solved by fixing the one major issue the unit has dealt with so far this season.
“I think a bunch of it is, we’re not protecting the quarterback as well as we should, and (quarterback Taylen Green is) running all over the place,” Pittman said. “I think once we protect him better, Luke will show up a bunch.
“I talked to Coach Petrino about that today, as a matter of fact, and we have several plays where he is the target. Sometimes, the play is called, and the quarterback is running all over the place.”
Hasz is certainly getting plenty of playing time. In fact, his 193 offensive snaps trail only Green (287) and wide receivers Tyrone Broden (244) and Andrew Armstrong (199 in three games since he missed the opener) among Arkansas’ offensive skill players.
Luke Hasz’s Run-Blocking Grades Say a Lot
Last week, Pittman praised Hasz for his improved blocking and that’s reflected in his Pro Football Focus grades. Before getting hurt in 2023, he had a 52.0 run blocking grade from PFF on 108 run-blocking snaps. In nearly the same number of snaps this year (98), Hasz has posted an 80.4 run-blocking grade.
“A lot of people that are tight ends think the only thing (is) if you have stats and if you catch footballs and you played well,” Pittman said. “This guy is playing his best football that he’s ever played here. He’s just not catching the football as much as he normally did. He’s so much better right now than he was a year ago. It just hasn’t shown up in the stats yet.”
Still, what makes the 6-foot-3 tight end so special is his ability to be a threat in the passing game. He nearly led the Razorbacks to a road win over LSU last year and even had a critical 43-yard touchdown that tied the game at Oklahoma State.
Considering Arkansas’ struggles throwing the ball the last two games, it would behoove Pittman and Petrino to find ways to get him the ball Saturday against the Razorbacks.
That seems to be especially true in the upcoming Arkansas vs Texas A&M game because the Aggies appear to be susceptible to tight ends hurting them in the passing game. The last two weeks, they’ve allowed Bowling Green’s Harold Fannin Jr. to catch 8 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown and Florida’s Arlis Boardingham to make 5 receptions for 42 yards.
“We know how valuable he is, and we’re certainly trying to use that value,” Pittman said. “We’d be silly not to, and I just think, in all honesty, in his particular (case), he’s the first read and for some reason we’ve had protection breakdowns.”
(READ NEXT: Here are the keys that will determine the Arkansas vs Texas A&M game Saturday)
Other Sam Pittman Presser Tidbits
Here are a few other quotes, not verbatim, from Sam Pittman’s weekly press conference looking back at the Auburn win and previewing the Arkansas vs Texas A&M game…
- On Texas A&M’s offense: Texas A&M has a really good team. Very physical offensively. Huge offensive line. A lot of big receivers. Reed, we tried to recruit him here. He’s got a strong arm, ability to run. They play a lot of different running backs. They’re all fast and physical. I really like their tight end corps. No. 17 has made a couple of TD catches, really good route runner. A lot of things to be concerned about and to plan for.
- On Texas A&M’s defense: Defensively, they’re really good in the front four. A lot of athleticism there. A lot of returning production and LB and their secondary is very good.
- Personnel update: We have suspended Rashod Dubinion indefinitely for violation of team rules.
- Injury updates: There’s a possibility to get Clark and Braxton back. They’d probably be “probable” right now. Nichols, I think he’ll be a lot better today than last Monday.
- On the passing game: Taylen has to be better, but we have to be better around him. Our protection isn’t very good right now. It’s RBs and TEs, too. The most concerning part about the offense from Saturday is the way we didn’t protect the QB.
- On Taylen Green leaving his feet: There’s a fine line with him. He’ll slide at times. We haven’t talked to him about needing to get down. We don’t want to put limitations on him. But we need him to stay healthy.
- On playing at AT&T Stadium: There’s excitement in recruiting about the game. There’s excitement for the players. We have a lot of Texas kids. To be honest, with Little Rock and Dallas, we’re playing one game out of the first five at home. It’s really hard to get the fan base excited if they don’t get an opportunity to see the Hogs.
- On the secondary’s play at Auburn: I thought Stewart played really well, as well as Singletary and Cuddie (Robinson). We needed them. I think it’s going to help us in the long run. We played more players, which we learned from the OSU game.
- On Texas A&M quarterback Marcell Reed: He’s ran the offense. You don’t see a lot of confusion. He has gotten out of bad plays. If he’s feeling pressure, he can run and make plays. He’s done a good job of not giving it to the opponent. He’s shown a lot of class and poise running the offense and taking what’s given. He’s playing older than his game experience.
- On what he’s learned about his team so far: I think we can be a lot better than what we are. I learned that we’re a resilient group. If we’ll get them ready at practice, they’ll play well in the game. We certainly have to take care of the ball better, but I really like this team. Being in the locker room after Saturday’s game was priceless. If we ask them to do it, they’re going to go try to do it to the best of their ability.
- On special teams play: I have five clips I’m going to show the team today and two of them have Ngo. Another one is our kicker going down and making the tackle. Also, Dazmin James did a great job locking up their gunner. The last one is Dylan Hasz, it took three guys to block him.
- On the close losses at AT&T Stadium: Have to find a way to finish the game. I don’t think it’s the mystique of playing A&M or in Dallas. We just have to finish the game.
- On the snap issues with Addison Nichols: We’re snapping the ball too hard, too fast. It’s like a Nolan Ryan fastball. If it’s low, it’s hard on Taylen – he’s 6-6. I think Addison is doing a good job. We’ll get it fixed. I think it’ll be better this week just because he’s able to go full speed on that ankle.
- More on the passing game: The timing has to be better. When the protection gets better, the timing will as well. I think we’ll get the ball out of our hands faster. It was the timing and pressure in his face that caused that.
Watch the full Arkansas football press conference here:
Arkansas Football Injury Report
Here’s the latest on several Arkansas football players who are dealing with injuries ahead of the Arkansas vs Texas A&M game…
- S Hudson Clark (back): Missed the last two games with a back injury suffered at Oklahoma State… Pittman said there’s a “possibility” he’ll be back this week
- CB Jaylon Braxton (tendinitis): Missed his second straight game despite Pittman saying he anticipated him being able to play at Auburn… Pittman said there’s a “possibility” he’ll be back this week
- TE Andreas Paaske (concussion): Missed the Auburn game because he’s in concussion protocol… Pittman is unsure if he’ll be able to return this week
- WR Khafre Brown (undisclosed): Missed the last few games with an undisclosed injury, but was also limited throughout the offseason
- OL Patrick Kutas (back): Has yet to play this season
- DB Miguel Mitchell (undisclosed): DNP the first four weeks… Not clear if it’s injury related or not… Pittman said previously that he’s “out for right now”
- DB Jaden Allen (knee): Pittman said the freshman had “cartilage repair” done on his knee and that he’s not expected to play this season.
- LB Justin Logan (shoulder): After being limited and wearing a green non-contact jersey during the spring, Pittman said he probably won’t play this season.
- OL Zuri Madison (ACL): Missed the spring and will miss the 2024 season with a torn ACL suffered in a scooter accident.
Arkansas vs Texas A&M Depth Chart
Here is the official depth chart for the Arkansas vs Texas A&M game, from the UA’s game notes…
Offense
| POS | First | Second | More |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Taylen Green | Malachi Singleton | KJ Jackson Blake Boda |
| RB | Ja’Quinden Jackson | Rodney Hill | Braylen Russell Rashod Dubinion Tyrell Reed |
| TE | Luke Hasz | Ty Washington | Var’keyes Gumms Andreas Paaske |
| WR-Z | Tyrone Broden | Jordan Anthony -OR- CJ Brown | Davion Dozier |
| WR-X | Andrew Armstrong | Monte Harrison | |
| WR-W | Isaiah Sategna | Isaac TeSlaa | Khafre Brown |
| LT | Fernando Carmona Jr. | E’Marion Harris | |
| LG | E’Marion Harris | Brooks Edmonson | |
| C | Addison Nichols | Amaury Wiggins | |
| RG | Joshua Braun | Ty’Kieast Crawford | |
| RT | Keyshawn Blackstock | Joe More |
Changes from last week:
- There are no changes to the offensive depth chart.
- Dubinion is still listed, but Pittman revealed Monday that he’s been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules.
Defense
| POS | First | Second | More |
|---|---|---|---|
| DE | Landon Jackson | Quincy Rhodes Jr. | |
| DT | Cam Ball | Keivie Rose | Danny Saili |
| DT | Eric Gregory | Ian Geffrard | |
| DE | Nico Davillier -OR- Anton Juncaj | ||
| LB | Brad Spence -OR- Stephen Dix Jr. | Alex Sanford | |
| LB | Xavian Sorey Jr. | Anthony Switzer -OR- Bradley Shaw | |
| NB | Doneiko Slaughter | Tevis Metcalf | |
| CB | Marquise Robinson -OR- Jaheim Singletary -OR- Kee’yon Stewart | ||
| S | TJ Metcalf | Hudson Clark | Ahkhari Johnson |
| S | Jayden Johnson | Larry Worth III | |
| CB | Jaylon Braxton | Selman Bridges |
Changes from last week:
- The only change on the depth chart is the addition of an “or” between Spence and Dix as the second linebacker. Dix made his first start at Auburn.
- There is still an “or” between Davillier and Juncaj, but Davillier has started the first four games of the season.
- It’s worth noting that Braxton was also listed as a starter the last two weeks, but didn’t play. Robinson and Singletary have started at the two cornerback spots in his absence.
Special Teams
| POS | First | Second |
|---|---|---|
| K | Kyle Ramsey | Matthew Shipley |
| P | Devin Bale | Sam Dubwig |
| KO | Devin Bale | |
| LS | Ashton Ngo | Max Schmidly |
| H | Devin Bale | Sam Dubwig |
| KR | Isaiah Sategna | Rodney Hill |
| PR | Isaiah Sategna | Bryce Stephens |
Changes from last week:
- There are no changes to the special teams depth chart for Arkansas football.
How to Watch Arkansas vs Texas A&M
Date: Saturday, Sept. 28
Location: AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
Kickoff time (TV): 2:30 p.m. CT (ESPN)
Commentators: Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek (analyst), Taylor McGregor (sideline reporter)
ESPN FPI: Texas A&M has a 55.9% chance to win.
Odds/Betting Line: Texas A&M, -3 | O/U 52.0 (BetSaracen)
***
More coverage of Arkansas football and Arkansas vs Texas A&M from BoAS…
