NFL DRAFT

6 Razorbacks poised to begin NFL careers this week

Bielema: NFL likes way that Hogs play

Arkansas running back Alex Collins runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Arkansas running back Alex Collins runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

FAYETTEVILLE -- A half-dozen of Arkansas' top offensive players from the past three years are poised to begin NFL careers this week.

Led by tight end Hunter Henry, who most analysts project as the first Razorback to be taken in the draft, this year's draft hopefuls are tilted heavily to the offensive side.

Henry, the Mackey Award winner as the top tight end in the nation last year, is widely considered the best player at his position in the draft.

More from WholeHogSports

http://www.wholehog…">Arkansas All-Time NFL Draft Picks

Running backs Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams combined for four 1,000-yard seasons, including Collins' 1,577 yards in 2015, and helped Arkansas establish itself as one of the SEC's top run offenses.

Quarterback Brandon Allen passed for 7,463 yards in three seasons as a starter and threw for a school-record 30 touchdown passes last season.

Offensive linemen Denver Kirkland and Sebastian Tretola never missed a start in the past two seasons as standouts on the left side of the line.

"I'd be surprised if we don't have six drafted," Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said. "I really would. My guess is we'll have three to five sign as free agents, too. People like the way our guys play."

Arkansas, which had five players selected in last year's NFL Draft, has not had a year with six draftees since running backs Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis led a six-man group in 2008.

In addition to the skilled players and offensive line stalwarts, the Razorbacks have a handful of other draft hopefuls. That group includes Mitchell Loewen, who played on both sides of the ball and might project as a tight end or defensive end; defensive tackle DeMarcus Hodge; safety Rohan Gaines; defensive back Davyon McKinney; and offensive lineman Mitch Smothers.

Analysts are split on whether Collins or Williams, who sat out all of 2015 after foot surgery in August, will be selected first.

NFL.com lists Collins as the No. 8 running back available in the draft with a grade of 5.5 and Williams as the No. 10 running back with a grade of 5.4.

NFLDraftScout.com, an arm of CBSSports.com, lists Williams as its No. 8 running back (and its No. 111 rated player overall) and projects the Allen, Texas, native to go in round three or four. The same service has Collins as the No. 10 running back (No. 126 overall) and also projects him to be selected in the third or fourth round.

Collins, whose five-sport stardom at South Plantation High in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., included lacrosse, has taken on a most unusual pre-draft training regimen in addition to his football-oriented work. He began Irish dancing in South Florida after driving Bryanne Gatewood, the daughter of his high school Coach Doug Gatewood, to practice and observing the workouts.

"In here, I'm always on my toes," Collins told SI.com. "I really love it because it builds my lower body muscles, my calf muscles, and it really works my lower body. It translates to the field because it makes me more explosive."

Collins, Henry and Kirkland all declared early for the NFL Draft after their junior seasons. Collins joined McFadden as the only Razorback to rush for 1,000 yards in each of his first three college seasons. He was the first collegian to rush for 100 yards in his first three games since Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson in 2004. Without Williams to share carries with in 2015, Collins rushed for a school-record 20 touchdowns.

Williams ran for 900 yards to Collins' 1,026 yards in 2013, then he led the Razorbacks with 1,190 rushing yards the next season, when he and Collins both scored 12 rushing touchdowns. Williams attended the Senior Bowl and the NFL combine for practices and interviews, although he was not cleared to participate in drills until the Arkansas pro day March 16.

"I've been doing this since I was 5 years old," Williams said. "Even though I missed a year, it was more of a break. It wasn't something that built up a lot of rust."

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said he leans toward projecting a better NFL career for Williams.

"When you look at the running back situation there, with Alex Collins, I think third or fourth round for him," Kiper said. "But a guy I think might be a little bit better pro is Jonathan Williams. He's got an awful lot of natural running instincts.

"I think Jonathan Williams is going to be one of those backs where we always talk, 'How did he get into the fifth or sixth round?' I think that's what we're going to be saying after a couple of years in the NFL for him."

Allen, who missed only one college start in three seasons, has had a long run of reading defenses and making decisions under center since his playing days at Fayetteville High, in addition to a broad swath of schemes from Bobby Petrino, Garrick McGee, Paul Petrino, Jim Chaney and Dan Enos.

"This is kind of surreal," Allen said. "It's been a dream of mine since I was a little kid, and to have the opportunity to get on a team is something that's real special to me."

Allen, a Senior Bowl and NFL combine invitee, was at the center of the hand-size debate earlier this year with his smallish 8½ inch hands. NFLDraftScout.com ranks him as the No. 9 quarterback available, with a round 4 to 5 grade, while NFL.com has him as the No. 8 quarterback.

Behind projected first-round picks Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, then Memphis product Paxton Lynch, anything could happen on the quarterback board. Allen has no preconceived notion about where he'll land.

"I have zero expectations right now," said Allen, who conducted his first Brandon Allen football clinic at Fayetteville High last week. "Obviously I want to be drafted as high as possible. I know a lot of things happen in the course of the draft.

"I'm just looking for one opportunity, and then whatever team takes that chance is what I'm up for."

Kiper said he liked everything about Allen.

"You talk about the fact that he's got the small hands, but I thought he spun it well," Kiper said. "He showed velocity on all the NFL throws he needed to make.

"I thought the way he played this year, the way he improved, he made some really good NFL throws, on target with great anticipation. He had a heck of a year. When you get into the fourth round, where Kirk Cousins came off the board ... I think he certainly fits in well at that point. Brandon Allen has all the intangibles."

Tretola, a second-team All-American, is rated as the No. 9 offensive guard available by NFLDraftScout.com and the No. 11 guard by NFL.com. A two-year starter at left guard, Tretola became something of a folk hero in Arkansas for his touchdown pass to snapper Alan D'Appollonio on a fake field goal in 2014, and for his pregame ritual of dancing with his headphones on at midfield. He is generally viewed as a fourth or fifth round selection.

Kirkland made 21 consecutive starts at right guard from early in his freshman year through 2014, then switched to left tackle for his junior season. He projects as a guard in the NFL, and NFLDraftScout.com lists him as the No. 15 player at that position, expected to be taken in the sixth or seventh round.

Sports on 04/27/2016

Upcoming Events