TE spot appeals to Youngblood

FAYETTEVILLE — As a quarterback, Jim Youngblood didn't shy away from contact.

"I'm not the guy that was going to go out there and juke everybody," he said. "I always felt like an aggressive runner, felt like I always wanted to run over people.

"I'm actually looking for people to hit."

Youngblood, a redshirt freshman for the Arkansas Razorbacks, has gotten to do a lot more hitting in practice since being moved to tight end nine days ago.

It's the first time Youngblood has played a position other than quarterback since middle school, when he was a running back. At quarterback, Youngblood passed and rushed for a combined 2,976 yards and accounted for 34 touchdowns during his senior season at Camden Fairview High School.

"Tight end is definitely different," he said. "I didn't really know what to expect when I came out, but I feel like I've had a solid first week and I just need to keep getting better."

Arkansas coaches made the decision to move Youngblood, 6-2, 225 pounds, to tight end after he talked with quarterbacks coach Garrick McGee about the possibility of playing a new position.

Youngblood worked at scout team quarterback last year and had been competing with freshman Brandon Mitchell this fall for the third-team quarterback job.

"Arkansas football is really important to Jim, and he wants to do whatever he possibly can to help us win," McGee said. "If he can help us in a role outside of quarterback, he's all for it."

Youngblood said he's "a gamer" and is eager to get on the field wherever he has to line up, including special teams.

"We've got a good chance to do something special this year," he said. "I just want to be a part of it."

Razorbacks Coach Bobby Petrino said Youngblood has a chance to help the team at tight end.

"He's got a lot to learn and has a long way to go," Petrino said. "But he's very eager, and he's got a great attitude about it."

Arkansas is trying to build depth at tight end behind juniors D.J. Williams and Ben Cleveland after the loss of sophomore Chris Gragg to a season-ending knee injury.

Senior tight end Joseph Henry, who was put on scholarship this year, has played in just one game (in 2007). Freshman Colton Nash moved from defensive end to tight end after Gragg was injured in an Aug. 12 scrimmage. Freshman tight end Austin Tate is expected to redshirt.

"Right now I'm behind because I started so late," Youngblood said. "But I feel like once I get everything down, I definitely can contribute."

Youngblood signed with Arkansas with the understanding he also could pitch for the baseball team. But he opted to play spring football last year rather than baseball and said this week he has no plans to play baseball in the future.

"I'm focused on football right now," he said. "I feel like I have a lot of progress I need to make, and football is what I need to be doing."

Williams, an All-SEC pick, said he believes that with time and the hard work Youngblood will put in, he'll become a good tight end.

"The good thing Jim has going for him is his athleticism," Williams said. "He's very athletic. You can see it in his routes.

"Even though he has a long way to go in the blocking game, he has good hips, and that's huge when it comes to blocking people bigger than you."

Youngblood said having practiced at quarterback helpshim as a tight end.

"I already know all the routes and I know a lot about defenses, how they're going to react," he said. "But it's still an everyday learning experience."Jim Youngblood at a glance SCHOOL Arkansas POSITION Tight end CLASS Redshirt freshman HIGH SCHOOL Camden Fairview HEIGHT/WEIGHT 6-2, 225 pounds NOTEWORTHY Moved from quarterback to tight end last week. As a senior at Camden Fairview, passed for 2,533 yards and 18 touchdowns and rushed for 642 yards and 16 touchdowns.