By Ryan Malashock
Special to the Arkansas News Bureau
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas wide receiver Jarius Wright hadn’t hauled in a touchdown pass since January 2.
So understandably, Wright seemed giddy about tallying two touchdowns Saturday in the No. 19-ranked Razorbacks’ 49-14 victory against Vanderbilt. He even playfully floated the ball back to a referee with a jump-shot motion after his second 15-yard touchdown catch of the evening.
“Aw, finally,” Wright said with a wide smile. “I’ve been waiting for (a touchdown) all year. It’s not like I haven’t scored them before. It’s nothing out of the ordinary. But it’s been a while.”
Wright entered Saturday’s game with 19 catches for 338 yards this season — numbers that ranked fifth and third among Razorback receivers. But with Arkansas’ top receiver Joe Adams out with an ankle injury Saturday night, Wright took the leading role against the Commodores.
He posted team highs with six receptions and 87 yards while registering his first career multiple-touchdown game.
Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino commended the 5-foot-10, 180-pound junior for the speed and toughness he displayed throughout Saturday’s contest.
“Jarius looked really fast,” Petrino said. “Coming in, we knew we had some special packages for him, and he did a nice job catching the ball and making big plays for us. He did his best job running after the catch.”
Arkansas offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said Wright embraced his role for Saturday’s game with Adams out and with Greg Childs questionable early in the week.
“We knew he was going to be important because Joe wasn’t going to go this week,” McGee said. “There was a while we thought Greg wasn’t going to go. So Jarius, being one of our leaders, I think he accepted the responsibility of coming out and playing as hard as he possibly could.”
Wright didn’t catch a pass in the first quarter, but his first reception put Arkansas on top for the first time Saturday.
The Razorbacks never trailed afterward. Mallett connected with Wright over the middle for a 15-yard touchdown pass that gave the Hogs a 20-14 lead with 11:20 left in the second quarter.
Wright’s next reception also resulted in a touchdown. Mallett kept the play alive by scrambling to his right and found Wright in the back right corner of the end zone for his second 15-yard score.
The touchdown extended Arkansas’ advantage to 29-14 with 6:26 left in the half.
Wright then caught three more passes on the Razorbacks’ final drive of the half, which resulted in a 26-yard field goal by Zach Hocker. On the first catch, Wright fought for tough yards during a 16-yard reception on third-and-15.
The hard-nosed play exhibited how Wright has expanded his skills this season.
“I can definitely do that now,” said Wright, who exited the game briefly in the third quarter because of dehydration. “I am a speed guy, but I’m not scared to run somebody over now. We have a great strength coach, and I’ve been able to add that to my game this year.”
Wright was one of eight receivers who caught a pass Saturday night, as Arkansas tried to make up for Adams’ absence. Ryan Mallett threw for a school-record 409 yards, incorporating seldom-used targets such as Chris Gragg and Julian Horton into the passing game.
Mallett targeted Wright the most, however, just as the Warren native suspected.
“You know, with Joe Adams being out, I think everyone was kind of depending on me,” Wright said. “I came in knowing I had to make plays, and that’s what I did.”
