By Scott Faldon
Times Record • sfaldon@swtimes.com
LITTLE ROCK — While wide receivers Jarius Wright and Joe Adams have had record-setting careers at Arkansas, Chris Gragg was a focal point of the Razorbacks’ offense Saturday.
The tight end caught eight passes for 119 yards and one touchdown as Arkansas blew out Mississippi State, 44-17, at War Memorial Stadium.
It was somewhat of an unexpected outburst for Gragg. He entered the game with a quiet 30 catches in 10 games this season for 338 yards and one TD. But the Arkansas coaching staff spotted a weakness in the Bulldogs’ defense they thought Gragg could exploit.
“They were leaving certain spots on the field open,” Arkansas offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said. “That was right in front of where Chris Gragg was going to line up a lot of the time, so we knew we could get him on certain routes.
“It’s good for Chris to come out and have a good game for us. He is a serious weapon at tight end because he’s normally lined up against linebackers. But he has the ability and the speed and quickness of a wide receiver.”
Mark Buffalo • Arkansas News Bureau
After a week of film study and practice, Gragg was expecting to be successful against Mississippi State.
“There were a couple of plays in practice this week that coach said they didn’t cover the tight end a couple of times, so I thought I would have a big game,” Gragg said. “It just felt good catching some deep balls and catching some in close like a tight end is supposed to.”
Gragg had four catches for 85 yards in the second quarter. Late in the half, he caught a 30-yarder.
Three plays later, he caught another for 10 yards that helped set up Zach Hocker’s 44-yard field goal, giving Arkansas a 24-10 halftime lead.
“It showed early in the game that they were having a hard time tackling him,’ Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino said. “I just kept reminding him to tuck the ball away, keep it locked up, because you’re going to break a lot of tackles.
“He did a really nice job catching the ball, running after the catch and made some huge third-down conversions.”
After a three-and-out by Mississippi State that opened the third quarter, Arkansas marched 78 yards.
Quarterback Tyler Wilson hit Gragg for a 2-yard touchdown pass as Arkansas took a 31-10 lead.
“I like his energy and enthusiasm,” Wilson said of Gragg. “He’s showed up the past few games really big, breaking some tackles, and showing some emotion. It gets everybody fired up.”
Gragg, a redshirt junior from Warren, said his performance was a long time in the making.
“It seems like forever, ever since 2008 when I first got on campus, I was trying to make a name for myself and help the Razorbacks win,” Gragg said. “Now all the hard work is paying off.”
It was a big night for the other Warren natives on the field as well.
Wright also caught eight passes for 96 yards. He now has 163 career catches, the most in school history. Joe Adams, who was poked in the eye and missed a significant portion of the game, caught three passes for 27 yards and a touchdown. He is second on the career receptions list with 156.
Greg Childs had three catches for 32 yards. Prior to Saturday, Childs had just 10 catches for 120 yards. He hasn’t caught a touchdown pass this season. But Wilson said Childs looked different against Mississippi State.
“He had that spark. It was like Greg of old,” Wilson said. “I got him the ball a few times and it’s a good time of the year for him to show that.”
The Warren trio combined for 19 of Wilson’s 32 completions — a new Arkansas record, which broke the previous one of 31 set by Joe Ferguson in 1971 — and 247 of Wilson’s 365 yards.
Mark Buffalo • Arkansas News Bureau
“It’s just fun when you go out there and see Jarius and Greg out there catching balls and making plays and I’m catching balls and making plays,” Gragg said. “It feels like when we were young and in the backyard.”
For his part, Wilson was bothered by a play early in the second quarter.
With Arkansas leading 14-7, the Razorbacks had driven to the Mississippi State 7. On third-and-6, Wilson was flushed out of the pocket to his left. As he scrambled, Johnthan Banks punched the ball out of his hands.
A Mississippi State player recovered the fumble, returned it to the Arkansas 28 and the Bulldogs scored five plays later which cut the Razorbacks’ lead to 14-10.
“It’s one of those plays where you’ve got to be smart and get the ball out of your hand,” Wilson said. “I didn’t feel he was that close, I thought I had a little more time, but I guess everybody in the stadium knew he was a little closer to me than I did because I heard them kind of yelling.
“You’ve got to take care of the football in that situation.”
But Wilson finished an efficient 32 of 43 (74 percent) with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Wilson’s 365 passing yards are the most he’s thrown against an Southeastern Conference opponent in his career.
“He is an NFL guy and can get rid of the ball quick. When he feels pressure he is going to get rid of the ball,” Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox said. “I give him credit, he is a good quarterback and he can make decisions quick.”
