By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett said he is waiting until the end of the season to explore whether he’s ready to enter the NFL Draft as an underclassman.
He’s not the only Razorback, apparently.
Junior tight end D.J. Williams indicated Wednesday that he would also weigh his options after the Liberty Bowl.
“Honestly, I’ve always been the type person that you can’t get to the third step unless you hit the first or second,” Williams said after Arkansas’ practice Wednesday night. “When that time comes, I’ll deal with it then. But so far, I haven’t even thought about it.”
Williams has caught 31 passes for 399 yards with 3 touchdowns this season, falling far short of his offensive performance as a sophomore. Williams caught 61 passes for 723 yards with 3 touchdowns in 2008.
One big reason for the statistical drop-off was the development of Arkansas’ sophomore class of wide receivers. Another was Mallett’s success rate throwing the football downfield to his talented wideouts.
But Williams, who also tried to become a better blocker, said he feels better about his play this year because he has become a more complete tight end.
“A lot of people are like, ‘What’s going on? D.J. didn’t have the kind of year he had last year.’” Williams said. “I feel like I had a better year than I had last year.”
Hiring Timeline
New offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said the Razorbacks are in no rush to hire a receivers coach to replace Paul Petrino. McGee said Arkansas’ goal is to make the right hire, no matter how long it takes.
“You want to make sure you get the right guy,” McGee said. “A guy that understands the way we go about our business, understands our philosophy of coaching and our philsophy of offense and that will fit in with our kids. We have a really good group of wide receivers. We have a really good, young core of offensive players.
“We’ve got to get us a guy that really fits in with those guys and can get the best out of them.”
More on Petrino
Were Arkansas’ offensive players surprised to hear Paul Petrino was going to Illinois? Williams and receiver Lucas Miller said they were. But Williams also said the Razorbacks had no hard feelings for Petrino.
“We undertand it’s a business,” Williams said. “That’s just what football is. He’s a great coach and I expect him to do great things at Illinois, bringing the offense that he knows he can bring to the table.”
Williams was asked if he got a chance to say good-bye to Petrino before he left for the Illini.
“No I didn’t get a chance to see him,” Williams said. “But he’ll hit me up some time later.”
