Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
O’Grady a handful vs. Aggies
ARLINGTON, Texas — When University of Arkansas senior tight end Jeremy Patton went down, Cheyenne O’Grady stepped up.
O’Grady, a junior tight end, led the Razorbacks with three catches for 77 yards in Texas A&M’s 24-17 victory on Saturday at AT&T Stadium.
Patton didn’t play after he suffered a left ankle injury on the Razorbacks’ third offensive play of the game.
O’Grady, who was suspended for the first two games for undisclosed disciplinary reasons, didn’t have a catch this season until Saturday.
“C.J. did some really good things today at the tight end position,” Arkansas Coach Chad Morris said. “I think C.J. has continued to improve this season. It was good to see him make some plays. I was very glad to see that.”
Arkansas senior linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who also was O’Grady’s teammate at Fayetteville High School, earlier this season posted a tweet that it was time for him to be more accountable.
“He’s definitely turned the corner in the last couple of weeks,” Greenlaw said. “He’s made huge improvements. I thank him for that, for coming on and being part of the team. Getting himself right and having a big game like he did today.
“I talked to him afterwards. He was sitting there crying, but I told him, ‘We need you.’ I think he understands that. Hopefully, we won’t have more problems out of him.”
After the game, Patton walked off the field on crutches with his left foot in a boot.
Morris didn’t offer any details about Patton’s injury after the game and said it will be evaluated.
New rivals
Arkansas sophomore running back Rakeem Boyd, who began his college career at Texas A&M in 2016, had 10 carries for 47 yards and caught 4 passes for 33 yards against his former teammates.
“It was pretty emotional,” Boyd said. “Tough loss.”
Boyd said he did some talking back and forth with the Aggies.
“Me and Tyrel Dodson were just going at it the whole game,” he said of the Aggies’ junior linebacker.
Fast start
Jashaun Corbin became the first Texas A&M player in 25 seasons to return the game’s opening kickoff for a touchdown when he went 100 yards on the Razorbacks.
The last Aggie to return a kickoff for a touchdown to open the game was Leeland McElroy in a 41-17 victory over Southern Mississippi on Sept. 19, 1994.
It was the second consecutive kickoff on which an Arkansas opponent scored a touchdown.
Auburn’s Noah Igbinoghene scored on a 96-yard return last week in the Tigers’ 34-3 victory over the Razorbacks.
Small crowd
The announced attendance of 55,383 for Saturday’s game was the lowest in the eight Arkansas-Texas A&M games played at AT&T Stadium. The previous low was 64,668 for last season’s game.
The largest crowd at AT&T Stadium for an Arkansas-Texas A&M game was 71,872 in the teams’ first meeting there in 2009.
Other crowds were 65,622 in 2010, 69,836 in 2011, 68,113 in 2014, 67,339 in 2015 and 67,751 in 2016.
Doubling up
Arkansas senior linebacker Dre Greenlaw had two interceptions — both in the first half — to triple his career total.
In 34 previous games, Greenlaw had one interception. That was against Louisiana-Monroe in 2016.
Greenlaw is the first Razorback to have two interceptions in a game since cornerback Henre Toliver against Missouri in last season’s finale.
Nice catch
Credit Arkansas backup quarterback Cole Kelley for a nice catch on his 1-yard touchdown run that pulled the Razorbacks within 17-7 with 9:35 left in the second quarter.
Kelley was able to get a hand on a high snap by center Ty Clary, control the ball and chug into the end zone.
The ball might have gone over a lot of quarterback’s heads, but it helped Kelley that he’s 6-7.
Make it seven
Texas A&M beat Arkansas for the seventh consecutive time, the Aggies’ longest streak in the 75-game series that dates back to 1903.
The Aggies’ previous long streak was six consecutive victories from 1938 through 1943.
Arkansas last beat Texas A&M 42-38 on Oct. 1, 2011, the season before the Aggies joined the Razorbacks in the SEC.
Chad Morris became the third Arkansas coach to lose to the Aggies during the seven-game streak along with John L. Smith in 2012 and Bret Bielema from 2013-17.
Despite Texas A&M’s recent domination, Arkansas still has a 10-game lead in the overall series at 41-31-3.
For starters
Arkansas sophomore linebacker Hayden Henry made his first career start.
It was the first time game this season in which the Razorbacks opened with three linebackers instead of five defensive backs. Henry started at linebacker along with De’Jon Harris and Dre Greenlaw.
Junior tight end Cheyenne O’Grady started for the first time this season as the Razorbacks opened in a two tight end set along with Austin Cantrell.
Running back Rakeem Boyd, a sophomore junior-college transfer, made his first career start.
Boyd started in place of junior Devwah Whaley, who didn’t dress out after suffering a concussion last week at Auburn. Whaley had started 16 consecutive games.
Targeting reversed
Arkansas twice was called for targeting, but both penalties were reversed in the Razorbacks’ favor after replay review.
Targeting calls on safety Santos Ramirez in the first quarter and defensive end Gabe Richardson in the fourth quarter were reversed.
Richardson on defense
Arkansas senior defensive back Kevin Richardson got several snaps as a nickel back on Saturday in his second game back from a foot injury after playing on special teams last week.
Richardson missed the first three games after undergoing foot surgery in July.
Nance in house
Jonathan Nance, a senior wide receiver who quit the Arkansas football team earlier this week, was spotted in the stands wearing a No. 88 Dallas Cowboys jersey and cheering for the Razorbacks.
Nance announced Sunday night that he was quitting the team after four games so he would be able to retain a season of eligibility. If he graduates from Arkansas, he’ll be able to transfer and play at another school as a graduate transfer.
Nance had three catches for 100 yards against Texas A&M last season. This season he had just one reception through four games for minus-2 yards.
They’re back
Arkansas receiver and kick returner De’Vion Warren and defensive end Dorian Gerald both played Saturday after missing last week’s game at Auburn.
Honorary captains
Roland Sales for Arkansas and Curtis Dickey for Texas A&M — both former running backs — served as honorary captains for the pregame coin toss.
Sales ran for 205 yards in the Razorbacks’ 31-6 victory over Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.