Razorbacks looking for big-play production

FAYETTEVILLE — With senior big-play receiver Jared Cornelius out for the season after Monday’s Achilles tendon surgery, the Arkansas Razorbacks obviously are seeking big plays from other sources.

They’ve got junior college transfer Jonathan Nance leading the 1-2 Razorbacks with nine catches for 200 yards and two touchdowns.

They potentially have two others — coach Bret Bielema believes in redshirt freshman Jordan Jones of Smackover and sophomore letterman T.J. Hammonds of Pulaski Joe T. Robinson — going into Saturday’s nonconference game with the New Mexico State Aggies at D.W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Cornelius had a knack for big plays both receiving and running. His 25 carries netted 188 yards and three touchdowns in 2016.

In Arkansas’ 50-43 overtime loss to Texas A&M in the SEC opener on Saturday, Jones stunned the Aggies by running two jet sweeps for 30 and 20 yards.

Hammonds, recruited as a running back and moved to receiver in the spring, gained 118 yards on 19 carries last season. This season, he has 30 yards on four carries, including 8 yards against Texas A&M.

Regarding Jones (6-foot-1, 185 pounds), Bielema said, “He has tremendous speed. He’s a very long player. He’s actually got very good hands on deep-ball throws as well.”

Nance and Jones provide “two guys you can line up as vertical threats,” Bielema said.

“T.J. had his his best week of practice and was involved in the game plan really, really good,” Bielema said.

PAGING JOHN MCDONNELL

Chris Bucknam, the successor to legendary men’s track coach John McDonnell, says he’s “taking a page out of Coach Mac’s book,” regarding Saturday morning’s Chile Pepper Invitational run at the Razorbacks’ cross country course at the UA’s Agri Park.

The men’s race Saturday morning will be 10,000 meters, the distance McDonnell’s and Bucknam’s men ran at Chile Pepper until forced to schedule the race earlier in the season to avoid conflicting with the Pre-National race and the big Wisconsin Invitational on the same weekend.

Chile Pepper, which is so established on the high school and community level that it can be scheduled at any time, began accommodating the Razorbacks several years ago by coming early in the year.

That prompted reducing the men’s collegiate race to 8,000 meters because most teams don’t want to race a 10K that early.

“I felt it’s time going back old school to the 10K,” Bucknam said, noting an eighth straight SEC championship for Arkansas on Oct. 27 in Athens, Ga., has formidable obstacles posed by Alabama and Ole Miss.

“I really like coach’s formula of running a 10K as a great test of fitness and then step down to run the shorter distance of the 8K for the conference meet. It’s a psychological plus.”

McDonnell won 40 national championships and 84 conference championships in both track and cross country at Arkansas.