FAYETTEVILLE — Jarius Wright heard teammates and coaches telling him to be patient, and he heeded their advice.
It wasn’t easy.
Not after Wright, a key cog in Arkansas’ receiving corps, caught only four passes during the Razorbacks’ 3-0 start. The dry spell, which included no receptions in Arkansas’ 31-24 victory at Georgia, was the leanest three-game stretch since midway through his freshman season in 2008.
“I was just waiting for my turn,” Wright said. “I continued to work hard in practice. The coaches told me my game was coming.”
Wright’s game came all right. The junior from Warren had a 31-yard catch on the first play last Saturday against No. 1 Alabama and finished with six catches for 131 yards, the second-biggest game of his career.
Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said Wright carried a great attitude through his slow start, even though the lack of production irked him.
“You could tell it bothered him,” Petrino said. “That’s OK. He didn’t let anybody else really know. He never got down on his attitude. That’s what I was so happy with.”
Arkansas offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said he felt a big game coming on for Wright, who had six receptions for 139 yards in the Hogs’ season opener against Missouri State in 2009.
“We knew that based on the coverages [Alabama] was playing, there was going to be a chance for Jarius to get deep down the field,” McGee said.
Wright wound up with receptions on every Arkansas scoring drive against the Crimson Tide, including a 20-yard grab that help set up quarterback Ryan Mallett’s 1-yard sneak for a 17-7 lead just before halftime.
“I just felt like Alabama played a lot of [man-to-man coverage],” Wright said. “I felt like my speed would play a big part in beating man coverage, and come to find out it really did.”
Wright’s breakout game again showed the tremendous depth and variety of talent in Arkansas’ receiving corps. Wright’s former Warren teammates, Chris Gragg and Greg Childs, had bookend touchdown receptions of 57 and 40 yards to open and close the scoring at Georgia two weeks ago.
Childs has already posted a monster game this season with 12 catches for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 31-7 victory over Louisiana-Monroe.
Fellow junior Joe Adams has already gone over 130 receiving yards twice this season.
Wright’s presence was felt even with his production on the wane as perhaps the most vocal leader of the receivers.
“If you don’t know him, he’s a good huddle guy,” offensive tackle and team captain DeMarcus Love said. “He’s always getting the linemen going. When we’re dead tired, he’s making sure his O-line is all right. He’s a guy we look to for leadership.”
He’s also a guy quarterback Ryan Mallett looks to for big plays.
“The thing with Jarius is that he doesn’t bust anything,” Mallett said. “I’m not saying any of our guys do, but you can count on Jarius every play.
“And he’s fast. You can see that when he’s out there outrunning guys. He’s fast, he’s got great hands, his technique is sound. He’s an all-around great player. He’ll go in and block. Whatever you need him to do, Jarius will do.”
Wright was in the middle of the action all last season with his 41 catches for 681 yards and 5 touchdowns, but his patience was being tested this season prior to the Alabama game.
“I didn’t get the ball as much as I expected the first three games,” Wright said. “As a receiver, not getting the ball as much as you expect, you know, it’s kind of discouraging. But everybody told me to keep my head up and just keep working hard, and I listened to what everybody said and it paid off for me.”
Sports, Pages 19 on 09/30/2010