FAYETTEVILLE — Two-thirds of Arkansas’ expected three-headed monster at tight end are no longer on the team.
Head coach Sam Pittman announced during Monday’s press conference that Ty Washington and Var’keyes Gumms had been dismissed for a violation of team rules. He also confirmed that they do not have an option to return.
They are the third and fourth players to leave the program since the 85-man scholarship list was established at the start of the school year, joining long snapper Eli Stein and Jaedon Wilson.
The timeline of their departures isn’t 100% clear, but Gumms first appeared as “out” on the SEC’s official availability report on Friday and Washington played just one offensive snap against Mississippi State on Saturday.
Both players had remaining eligibility and could have been back in 2025, but that now won’t happen.
Gumms was a redshirt junior in his second season with the Razorbacks after beginning his career at North Texas. A heralded transfer two cycles ago, he failed to live up to expectations, making just 4 receptions for 26 yards and playing only 180 total snaps from 2023-24.
Washington was a redshirt sophomore who signed with the Razorbacks out of Leesburg, Ga., in the Class of 2022. He showed some flashes, including a 17-yard touchdown in the 2022 Liberty Bowl and a two-touchdown performance against Ole Miss last year. In three seasons, Washington caught 14 passes for 212 yards and four scores.
During fall camp, they looked like they’d be big-time weapons in Bobby Petrino’s offense, but that never materialized.
Good Timing for Hogs
Instead, Luke Hasz has been the bell cow at the position despite battling a back injury. On top of that, Eastern Michigan transfer Andreas Paaske evolved into the team’s top blocking tight end.
Paaske missed three games with a concussion, but actually caught three passes — including a pair of touchdowns — against Mississippi State, his second game back. That coincided with Hasz’s breakout performance, as he reeled in four receptions for 59 yards and two touchdowns, as well.
Together, they combined for seven catches, 78 yards and four touchdowns against the Bulldogs. Over the first seven games of the season, tight ends had caught just 14 passes for 172 yards and two scores.
“We’ve always had good belief in those guys, and they’ve been one in progressions several routes,” Pittman said. “For whatever reason, whether it be protection breakdowns or whether it be we didn’t get open, but we did on Saturday and it was really, really cool to see that the tight ends caught four touchdowns.”
Hasz getting involved in the passing game and Paaske emerging as a receiving threat certainly softens the blow of Ty Washington and Var’keyes Gumms no longer being on the team.
However, it does suddenly leave the Razorbacks very thin at the position. One obvious option is walk-on Maddox Lassiter. The redshirt freshman from Warren has carved out a role as Arkansas’ fullback, but could get some traditional tight end reps moving forward.
“I think Lassiter’s role, we may have to give him a few more responsibilities,” Pittman said. “Maybe some on the line. We haven’t used him a lot there, but obviously we believe him because he’s played a lot of ball for us.”
For blocking purposes, the Razorbacks could also use former walk-on Josh Street. While still a reserve offensive lineman, he changed his jersey number to No. 96 prior to the Texas A&M game so he’d be an eligible pass catcher and has been used in Arkansas’ jumbo packages this year.
However, there’s a good chance that Hasz and Paaske end up handling the bulk of the snaps. That’s what happened Saturday, as they both started and played 40 of 69 offensive snaps.
“We also got Josh Street ready when we were banged up a little bit, and we’ll have a few more ideas for that position,” Pittman said. “But yes, absolutely, I think (Hasz and Paaske) can and I think they will.”
Other Sam Pittman Presser Tidbits
Here are a few other quotes, not verbatim, from Sam Pittman’s weekly press conference looking back at the Mississippi State win and previewing the Arkansas vs Ole Miss game…
- On Ole Miss’ defense: Really good football team and well coached with Coach Kiffin. It seems like this year is a little different. They have the No. 1 rush defense in the country. Very, very good. THeir front is deep. They’re very good at every position on the D-line. Pooh Paul is their leading tackler and playing extremely well. You think about Ole Miss, you think about offense, but they’re very good on defense.
- On Ole Miss’ offense: We’re expecting Tre Harris to be there this week. Their running back has 650+ yards. Just a really good football team that’s very explosive.
- On looking back at the Mississippi State film: We allowed 11 explosives, which is something we have to figure out. We lost contain on the bubbles. We have to get that fixed. The good thing is we got basically seven turnovers – the five true turnovers and two fourth-down stops. I didn’t think we finished the game in the second half. Our tackling wasn’t as good as it was in the past. We didn’t have as many guys around the ball. We’ll work hard on that.
- On the Arkansas vs Ole Miss series since he’s been the head coach: All four games have been very competitive. Looking for the same type of situation on Saturday.
- On Hudson Clark: He’s so important to our team as a leader, but he can also play so many positions. Right now we feel like corner is that spot because that’s what we need. Probably need to play Singletary a little bit more. Hudson seems to always be around the football and a guy we can count on. We have a lot of trust in him.
- On Taylen Green’s improved passing: People around him have played better. When you run the ball, your play action becomes better. He’s playing really confident right now. We ran him a little more Saturday. We’re learning more about what he can do and likes to do, too.
- On his memories of the 2020 win over Ole Miss: I remember that (Clark) got his third interception and held up three fingers. I remember the game was pretty much in hand and they faked the punt. That was on me – we should have been in punt safe. That made things interesting, but Grant Morgan got a pick to seal it.
- More on Hudson Clark: He’s so valuable because he knows every spot in the secondary. We have huge belief in him and he’s certainly earned that. He’s a good special teams player, as well. We’ve taken him off some of that because his back was banged up a little bit.
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 Ole Miss game…
- CB Jaylon Braxton (leg): Last played against Oklahoma State in Week 2… Has been out with what was previously described as “tendinitis,” but Pittman said last week that it’s a leg injury “and I’ll just leave it at that”… Pittman said the earliest he could return is after the second open date, at which point there would be three games remaining… Appeared in only two games, so a redshirt is still on the table
- RB Ja’Quinden Jackson (ankle): Pittman again classified him as “doubtful” for this week after he missed the Mississippi State game
- RB Rodney Hill (MCL): Despite being a “game-time decision” and going through pregame warmups, he did not play against Mississippi State… Pittman said he’s “probable” for the Arkansas vs Ole Miss game
- K Kyle Ramsey (groin): Injured his groin in the Tennessee game and Pittman described it as a “significant” injury, so he’ll miss some time
- 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 Ole Miss Depth Chart
Here is the official depth chart for the Arkansas vs Ole Miss 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 | 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 | |
LT | Fernando Carmona Jr. | E’Marion Harris | |
LG | Keyshawn Blackstock -OR- Patrick Kutas | Brooks Edmonson | |
C | Addison Nichols | Amaury Wiggins | |
RG | Joshua Braun | Ty’Kieast Crawford | |
RT | E’Marion Harris | Joe More |
Changes from last week:
- Perhaps the most notable change to the offensive depth chart is that an “or” has been added between Blackstock and Kutas at left guard. In his first game back from injury, Kutas got the start and played a majority of the snaps over Blackstock.
- Tight ends Ty Washington and Var’keyes Gumms are no longer listed on the depth chart. That has resulted in Paaske moving up to second team.
- At wide receiver, Khafre Brown is no longer listed as the third-team slot.
- Ja’Quinden Jackson is listed as the first-team running back, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll play because he was listed there last week and was held out because of his ankle injury. The same is true of Hill.
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 | Jaheim Singletary | Kee’yon Stewart |
S | TJ Metcalf | Hudson Clark | Ahkhari Johnson |
S | Jayden Johnson | Larry Worth III | |
CB | Hudson Clark -OR- Jaheim Singletary | Kee’yon Stewart | Selman Bridges |
Changes from last week:
- The double “or” at the first cornerback spot is finally gone, as Robinson has started pretty much every game this year. He’s listed first, with Singletary as the backup and Stewart as the third-team guy.
- At the other cornerback spot, there is still an “or” but it’s between Clark and Singletary. Last week, it was between Singletary and Stewart. Clark got the nod against Mississippi State.
- He’s still not listed on the depth chart, but Florida transfer Miguel Mitchell has played backup snaps at safety the last two weeks.
Special Teams
POS | First | Second |
---|---|---|
K | Matthew Shipley | Charlie Von Der Meden |
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.
How to Watch Arkansas vs Ole Miss
Date: Saturday, Nov. 2
Location: Razorback Stadium (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Kickoff time (TV): 11 a.m. CT (ESPN)
Commentators: Mark Jones (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), Quint Kessenich (sideline reporter)
ESPN FPI: Ole Miss has an 73.9% chance to win.
Odds/Betting Line: Ole Miss, -7 | O/U 53.5 (BetSaracen)
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