Young wideouts getting their shot

Arkansas’ Javontee Herndon (right) caught only two passes his freshman year, but added eight more in his sophomore season for a two-year yardage total of 169.
Arkansas’ Javontee Herndon (right) caught only two passes his freshman year, but added eight more in his sophomore season for a two-year yardage total of 169.

— Arkansas has been dreading as well as preparing for this.

Joe Adams, Greg Childs and Jarius Wright, three of the most productive wide receivers Arkansas football has ever seen, are gone.

How do you go about replacing three players who combined for 465 catches, 7,410 yards and 56 touchdowns over their careers?

Arkansas offensive coordinator Paul Petrino looks at senior Cobi Hamilton as a starting point.

“Cobi should be the go-to guy,” Petrino said of Hamilton, who had 34 catches for 542 yards and 4 touchdowns last season. “He should be the No. 1 guy, but who’s going to be No. 2, 3 and 4 is up for grabs.”

Coach Bobby Petrino said he is also eager to see who rises up and commands to be targeted by quarterback Tyler Wilson.

“I really liked what I saw from Javontee Herndon last year,” Bobby Petrino said. “You look at the Mississippi State game, he had five catches, one huge play.

“Julian Horton has shown he can get in SEC games and produce. ... We need to get some production out of Marquel Wade ... and see who else is going to step up and be able to make plays for us.”

Replacing the yardage, touchdowns and leadership of Adams, Childs and Wright will not be easy, but the Razorbacks coaches knew this day was coming and they have been recruiting for it.

Herndon joined a recruiting class with Julian Horton, Maudrecus Humphrey and Wade — who rejoined the Hogs after a year in prep school — in 2010. Players like Keante Minor, Quinta Funderburk, Kane Whitehurst, Demetrius Dean and Ryan Farr have come on board as well in an effort to make an impression this spring before a new batch of receivers — Demetrius Wilson, Keon Hatcher, Jeremy Sprinkle, Eric Hawkins, D’Arthur Cowan and Mekale McKay — arrives this summer.

“We’ve been waiting for this for two years, and it’s time for us to do what the people before us did and keep it going,” Herndon said.

Hamilton is trying to lead the way.

“I started being more vocal last year, and that helped me carry over to this spring,” Hamilton said. “I’ve been doing a good job, but you can always get better at doing it and being a better leader.”

Hamilton said he doesn’t feel like a mentor to the younger group.

“Most of these guys have been here long enough, and they know how we work and how we go about things,” Hamilton said.

Maybe not a mentor, but Horton said Hamilton has at least been like an older brother.

“He did a great job leading through all the winter workouts,” Horton said.

Now, Paul Petrino said, comes the fun of watching players challenge for the starting positions that have finally been vacated.

“A lot of times, when you know you’re a backup, you kind of get used to that role, but now there are a whole bunch of guys gone,” Paul Petrino said.

Receivers coach Kris Cinkovich said it’s time for the younger players to step up.

“It’s different, but we’ve been preparing and growing,” Cinkovich said. “We’ve been through an offseason with it. These guys ... they know what to do, and now it’s time to ... see who’s going to take jobs.”

Sports, Pages 21 on 03/25/2012

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