A week has passed since the SEC unveiled its preseason all-conference teams as voted on by the media.
Arkansas landed five total players on the three teams, highlighted by Treylon Burks being tabbed to the preseason All-SEC first team. Jalen Catalon, Grant Morgan and Ricky Stromberg made the second team, while Myron Cunningham was on the third team.
It wouldn’t be a shock if all five of those players ended up making the All-SEC teams at he end of the season, but a few other Razorbacks could also make some noise in the conference.
Last year, after Rakeem Boyd was Arkansas’ lone preseason All-SEC selection, HawgBeat listed five players it could see garnering postseason accolades. Only one of our predictions – Burks – came to fruition, but two others – Stromberg and Cunningham – played well enough to make preseason all-conference teams this year.
With more representation this year, the exercise it a little more difficult, but here are six other Arkansas players – three on offense, three on defense – we could conceivably see land on the postseason All-SEC teams…
RB Trelon Smith
The SEC is loaded at running back this year, so it’s understandable that Smith didn’t make the preseason squads, but it seems like he is being completely overlooked heading into 2021. A segment about the position on SEC Network during SEC Media Days didn’t even mention Smith and he was completely left off a recent top 10 list by Saturday Down South.
Eight returning SEC players averaged at least five yards per carry on 90 or more attempts last season. Six of them make up the running backs on the preseason All-SEC teams and another was the first-team all-purpose selection. The eighth guy? Trelon Smith.
He finished with 710 yards and five touchdowns on 134 carries last year, good for a 5.3-yard average. That doesn’t even factor in his 22 receptions for 159 yards – both of which would have ranked second among that group of returning running backs.
CB Montaric Brown
Last year, HawgBeat noticed that Jonathan Marshall’s Pro Football Focus grade had steadily increased as he got more playing time over the first three years of his career. We wrote that he could be a breakout player, but didn’t take the next leap to include him on this list.
We aren’t going to make that mistake again, which is why Brown is our second choice as a potential All-SEC defensive back. He earned a 59.2 grade while playing 22.6 snaps per game in 2018, a 65.0 grade while playing 66 snaps per game in 2019 and 70.9 grade while playing 72 snaps per game last season. There’s a case to be made that he’s one of the more underrated corners in the conference and – if he can stay healthy – he could make another jump in 2021.
OL Ty Clary
He’s taken a lot of heat from fans over the years, particularly because of his inconsistent snaps as the starting center, but HawgBeat has always maintained that he’s a solid offensive lineman outside of that one issue. It’s also worth mentioning that he was thrust into the starting lineup as a true freshman – something you don’t see often with a two-star, blueshirt signee.
Coming back for a COVID-senior season, Clary will be one of the most experienced offensive linemen in the conference, with 34 career starts and more than 2,100 career snaps over the last four years. This will also be his second year under offensive line guru Sam Pittman.
There’s no guarantee Clary will start this season, as Pittman revealed at SEC Media Days that he’s still in a stiff competition with Beaux Limmer at right guard, but we believe his experience will win out in the end and he’ll have a big final season with the Razorbacks.
QB KJ Jefferson
This is probably the guy Arkansas fans most want to see featured on the postseason All-SEC teams because it would likely mean it was a fun year. HawgBeat already declared Jefferson the most important player on the team this year, as the Razorbacks’ success hinges on how well he adjusts to being the full-time starting quarterback.
The jury is still out on how good he’ll be, but Jefferson has certainly flashed the talent that made him a four-star, Rivals250 prospect coming out of high school and the coaching staff showed faith in him by not pursuing anyone in the portal. It’s probably a stretch for him to be All-SEC caliber in 2021, but it’s a weak year of quarterbacks in the conference and the dual-threat aspect of his game could get him in the conversation.
DE Zach Williams
Arkansas desperately needs to generate more of a pass rush this season and there are several candidates that could provide it. Tre Williams transferred in from Missouri and Dorian Gerald returned for his COVID-senior season – both of which could be the answer.
However, we are going with Williams because he’s been here and has transformed his body this offseason. Pittman said he’s up to 265-270 pounds after playing at 246. It may not be enough to garner All-SEC recognition, but we believe Williams could certainly get more than the team-high 2.5 sacks by Eric Gregory last year.
LB Bumper Pool
It may have surprised some fans to see Pool get left off the preseason All-SEC teams considering he was a second-team selection after last season. Those who study the advanced analytics provided by Pro Football Focus, though, were probably more understanding.
Although he finished fourth in the SEC with 101 tackles in 2020, Pool had one of the worst grades by an FBS linebacker, according to Pro Football Focus. A major factor in that was his SEC-high 24 missed tackles, but it’s worth mentioning that he played through multiple injuries last year, including broken ribs, that could have contributed to that stat. If he’s fully healthy and can become a more sound tackler, he’ll have even more tackles and could be considered for the All-SEC teams.