Arkansas Razorbacks: A depleted receiving corps in 2017

There are 60 days till college football season, and today we focus on a team that will have to find some new pass-catchers in 2017.

The Arkansas Razorbacks had one of the most consistent passing attacks in the SEC last season. They ranked third in the SEC and 32nd in the nation with 264.2 passing yards per game. The only problem is that Keon Hatcher, Drew Morgan, Jeremy Sprinkle, Dominique Reed, Rawleigh Williams III, and Cody Hollister will not be back in Fayetteville this season.

And that leads us to no. 60 in the Southbound and Down College Football Countdown.

The Arkansas Razorbacks return 60 receptions from last year’s team.

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Arkansas lost six of their top seven leading receivers from last year’s team. The 60 receptions that they return is just 24.3 percent of last year’s total.

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Jared Cornelius is the Razorbacks’ top returning receiver with 32 receptions for 515 yards and four touchdowns last season. Cornelius and Austin Cantrell are the only returning receivers that had double-digit receptions in 2016.

This year’s starting running back Devwah Whaley is the third returning receiver with six receptions a year ago. The Razorbacks were supposed to return last year’s starting running back, Williams III, but he suffered the second neck injury of his career in this year’s spring game and he decided to hang up his cleats for good.

As a sophomore last season, Williams was third in the SEC with 1,360 rushing yards last season and was tied for sixth in the conference with 12 rushing touchdowns.

Fortunately for the Arkansas Razorbacks, they return Austin Allen, one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the SEC, but he is going to be put to the test this season, throwing to several new faces on the outside.

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