Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

11/19/2011 at 8:05pm

Image by Mark Wagner

Tight end Chris Gragg had eight catches for 119 yards and a touchdown in the Razorbacks' 44-17 victory on Saturday. Arkansas improved to 10-1 with the victory.

Arkansas tight end Chris Gragg hasn't had the opportunities his fellow Warren Lumberjack teammates, Jarius Wright and Greg Childs, have enjoyed as Razorbacks the past four years. But as the 2011 season winds down it's shaping up to be Gragg's moment to shine.

Gragg was directly involved a handful of Arkansas scoring drives Saturday as the Hogs steamrolled Mississippi State 44-17 at War Memorial Stadium with a dominant offense, defense and kicking game. Gragg had a game-high, one-game best eight receptions for 119 yards, also a personal best in his three years as a Hog. Gragg, the chiseled 6-3, 236-pounder who came to Fayetteville more of a string bean like Childs, caught them deep behind the Mississippi State defense and flagged them down on underneath routes.

Wright, meanwhile had eight catches for 96 yards and Childs, who has battled a balky knee since tearing a patella tendon last year, had his first multi-catch game since Oct. 8 with three receptions for 32 yards.

That's not a bad output from the Warren trio: 19 catches of Tyler Wilson passes for 237 yards. Back when they were playing together for the Lumberjacks in 2006-07 and quarterback Hayden Smith was slinging them around to that threesome and Basmine Jones, that might have been considered an off night.

Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino will take it. He's bringing in a new Warren receiver, Jalen Cobb, in the upcoming recruiting class and will be watching for more like Wright, Gragg and Childs.

"I think all three of them could run for mayor of Warren right now and win in a landslide," Razorback senior defensive end Jake Bequette said after the Hogs' 10th win of the season.

Gragg said afterward he anticipated having a nice day, if not a career one.

"There were a couple of times where we noticed that they didn't cover the tight end on certain plays," he said. "It felt good catching some deep balls and catching some balls up close like a tight end is supposed to do. It felt good catching the ball.

"I went out and just tried to play hard. I did have one drop and that's going to eat me up for a couple of days, but I just went out and tried to make plays when my number was called."

Mississippi State so ignored Gragg a lot of the day, the Bulldogs embarrassingly were nowhere to be found as Gragg was waiting all alone for Wilson's 2-yard lob that put the Hogs up 31-10 midway through the third quarter. Gragg was lined up just off the line in a wing position.

"I don't know if it was a busted coverage. I saw the corner blitz and I had a corner route and I guess no linebacker took me," Gragg said.

Gragg, who often powered through initial tackle attempts, when he wasn't surprising the Bulldogs' secondary with his strength and deceptive speed running vertical routes, was a load for the MSU defense to bring down. Gragg said the receivers and tight ends have a competition between the units for that they term "bull yards," or yards after catch. "I think the tight ends might have won it today. We never win it but I think we might have won it today," he said.

Gragg came to Fayetteville with Wright and Childs — Basmine Jones headed off to a junior college and is no longer in football — but redshirted in 2009 after suffering a preseason broken leg. Last year, the tight end attention was most only senior D.J. Williams, now with the Green Bay Packers. Gragg had a huge touchdown catch against Georgia in the Hogs' win in Athens, but mostly waited his turn to be the go-to tight end.

"It seems like forever, it seems like 2008 when I first got on campus, I was trying to make a name for myself and help the Razorbacks win. Finally, the hard work's paying off," he said.

Gragg has steadily become more a part of the offensive plan. He has 38 catches on the season for 457 yards. His best game before Saturday was a five-catch effort in the Hogs' 31-28 comeback win at Vanderbilt.

On Saturday, Petrino called plays that spread the ball around to Gragg and seven other receivers, while five running backs carried the ball, including stumpy Kiero Small, who dived over the line for his first UA carry, a 1-yard touchdown. Arkansas piled up 539 total yards against what was supposed to be a strong Bulldog defense, and the Hogs did it with 39 rushes and 45 passes.

Wilson, who set an Arkansas single-game completion mark with 32 on 43 attempts for 365 yards (breaking Joe Ferguson's mark of 31 completions in a 17-9 loss in 1971 to Texas A&M in this same stadium), credited Gragg not only with his sure hands, but playing with a style that rubbed off on the rest of the team.

"I like his energy and enthusiasm," the junior quarterback said. "He's showed up in the past few games really big. Breaking some tackles along the sideline and showing some emotion afterwards gets everybody kind of fired up, and I enjoyed that tonight."

With so many weapons now stepping up, Arkansas has scored 44 or more points the past three weeks and appears to be peaking offensively. The defense played its best game of the season on Saturday as well. Saturday's win pushed the Arkansas record to 10-1, marking only the third time in the program's history to have back-to-back 10-win seasons.

"This is what we got here for," Gragg said of the Warren contingent and their part in that mark. "When Coach Petrino and Coach [Garrick] McGee and all the coaches came to our houses, they were talking about winning the national championship. It's four years later and it's in front of our face and we just have to finish strong."

When Bobby Petrino was building this in 2008 and convincing the Warren trio to remain committed to the Hogs after a coaching change, fans around the state might have wondered if one tiny town of 6,000 people could produce three SEC-quality receivers in one class.

That question of "can they play?" was long answered before Saturday's amazing show by the trio, but Hog fans now will hope Warren will keep sending more big-time receivers to Fayetteville.

"It's fun when you go out there and see Jarius and Greg out there and they see me out there catching balls and making plays. It's just fun," Gragg said. "It feels like when we were young in the backyard."

Award-winning columnist Jim Harris wasn’t around when Hugo Bezdek named the Razorbacks, it only seems that way. His acumen for UA football history is renowned and he has covered the Hogs and the state sports scene since 1976. He knows his way around music and food, too. Email: jharris@abpg.com, and follow Jim on Twitter @jimharris360

Tagged: Jake Bequette, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Southeastern Conference, Basmine Jones, Tyler Wilson, Greg Childs, Chris Gragg, Jarius Wright, Bobby Petrino