FAYETTEVILLE — The way Keon Hatcher envisioned his final year as an Arkansas Razorback, he would be graduating on Saturday with a degree in communications, bowing out of the program at the same time as fellow seniors Brandon Allen and Jonathan Williams, and looking ahead to a possible career in the NFL.
Hatcher is still planning to graduate Saturday, but all the other plans are on hold.
Everything started to change on Aug. 15 when Williams, Hatcher long-time roommate, suffered a broken foot in a scrimmage. Then came Arkansas’ 16-12 loss to Toledo in Little Rock on Sept. 12 and a fateful play in the fourth quarter.
“I knew I broke my foot on the second-to-last drive,” Hatcher said. “We were down there in the red zone and B.A. scrambled, and I just tried to plant and go the other way and I felt my foot pop. I ran over to J-Will and I was like, ‘Yo, I just broke my foot.’ ”
It was late in the game, and the Razorback were trailing, so Hatcher said he had no plans of staying on the sideline. He had already caught six passes for 74 yards and said he knew his team needed more.
Hatcher said he told head trainer Matt Summers about his injury, and Summers said they needed to get him up on a table to take a look.
Hatcher’s response: “I’m like, ‘Nah bro, we can’t do that. The game’s on the line. If we look at it, I’m not going to be able to play.’ ”
So Hatcher jogged back on the field when Arkansas took over at its 32 with 44 seconds left for a final stab at a comeback. Hatcher caught an 18-yard pass from Allen on a dig route to move the Razorbacks to the 50 on the first snap of the series and stayed in until the final plays, two consecutive incomplete passes in the end zone from the Toledo 16.
2:20 p.m. Central Jan. 2, Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, ESPN
A medical examination after the disheartening defeat revealed Hatcher had broken the fifth metatarsal bone, the outside bone on his left foot, and his season was probably over.
“It’s just been a crazy season,” Hatcher said. “After J-Will got hurt, then a couple of us went down, it just really seemed like a dark cloud was over the season. But guys stepped up, practiced hard and kept coming every day and look where we are now. We’re bowl eligible and about to go down to Memphis and play Kansas State.”
Hatcher has stayed involved as much as possible helping receivers coach Michael Smith, especially after two other prominent receivers — Cody Hollister and Jared Cornelius — were lost in an eight-day span after Hatcher.
As it turned out, Drew Morgan and Dominique Reed took over key roles, and Cornelius began contributing again after missing four games with a broken arm.
“I mean, those are the guys you look for to get the ball to make plays for your offense,” Hatcher said. “The outlook on the season before was just so bright, then all that stuff started happening, and it was just like, what can you do? You just have to take the punches and roll with them and keep on fighting.”
Hatcher, 6-2, 210 pounds, had planned to be preparing for the NFL Draft after the season, and he was well on his way to catching the attention of scouts with 13 receptions for 198 yards through the first two games. He was on pace to catch more than 80 passes for nearly 1,300 yards.
The injury has forced Hatcher to rethink his original plan. He had harbored hopes of playing late this season, but his injury didn’t heal as quickly as planned, so the decision was made to return to the Razorbacks for another season.
Hatcher’s roommate, Williams, has accepted a Senior Bowl invitation and is carrying out his plan of moving on in his career.
“The later in the season it got, I saw that time was starting to run out for the season and for me to be able to help myself and help this team, and it was just meant for me to come back,” Hatcher said. “I made my peace with it. I had to. I’m glad I did, so I could put that behind me and just go to work.”
Hatcher said he’s going to miss guys like Williams and Allen.
“Me and J-Will, we came in together, been roommates since we got here,” Hatcher said. “That’s my boy. Even on senior night, he ran out and I shed a tear. … Just to see him be able to jog out onto that field on senior day was real special.”
Hatcher said of Allen, “I’m just so proud for my man. I wanted to be a part of it so bad, his big senior year. I thought we were going to be able to do it together. He’s been out there making big, great plays for our team and putting Razorback nation on his back and I’m very happy for my dude.”
Allen said he loved throwing to Hatcher.
“Me and him just kind of have a connection on the field,” Allen said.
“The sky’s the limit for him next year. I think he’s poised for a big season next year.”
Hatcher said he is looking ahead to 2016, talking up the level of experience on the defense and the depth he’ll be rejoining at receiver.
“Coming back will be the best decision for me, just to be able to finish my senior year how I want to,” he said. “I can come back for another year with Razorback nation and be a part of this great team and just end my career on a high note.”