Burks and friends bring speed, depth to Hogs

First in a series previewing position groups for the University of Arkansas football team.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Led by preseason All-SEC pick Treylon Burks, the University of Arkansas looked deep and experienced at wide receiver coming out of spring drills.

Then senior Mike Woods abruptly entered the transfer portal and signed with Oklahoma, leaving a 619-yard hole to go along with his 5 touchdowns and team-best 19.3 yards per catch.

The departure gave Coach Sam Pittman the opportunity to express his thoughts on the portal -- "Once you go to the transfer portal at the University of Arkansas, you sure ain't transferring back in" -- and reiterate his support of slot receiver De'Vion Warren, who was recovering from anterior cruciate ligament surgery.

"I've already said I thought De'Vion Warren was our second-best receiver before he got hurt," Pittman said at SEC Media Days.

The Razorbacks' best wideout is the junior Burks, who enters the year with All-America chatter and a potential high draft pick attached to his profile.

The 6-3, 227-pounder represented the Razorbacks at their preseason media day along with Pittman and safety Jalen Catalon, and he was asked about his preseason hype.

"It's good to hear, but I've still got a season to play ahead of me," said Burks, who had 51 receptions for 820 yards and 7 touchdowns in essentially 8 games.

"I just want the team to go out there and play our hearts out. For everybody to play for the team, and not for themselves. And everything that everybody wants will happen. If it's to go the NFL, set receiving records, running back records, all of that. It'll just happen."

Burks' one-hand, toe-tap touchdown catch against Ole Miss was one of the highlight grabs in all of college football in 2020.

The Warren High School product, who excelled while split wide and also in the slot, talked to first-year receivers coach Kenny Guiton about how he could improve his skills.

"Treylon's an awesome guy, so it's easy to talk to him about the things that he needs to improve on," Guiton said. "He already knows what type of player he is ... so him being a bigger guy, you know bigger guys aren't always the same route runners as those smaller wide receivers.

"I told him, 'I'm here to help you with that, to help make sure we can take your route running to another level.' It's not like it's not already great, he's top three in the country, so you're obviously doing something right. But I just want to help him take it up another notch."

Guiton said Burks wanted to improve in his ability to read defenses, to understand why coordinator Kendal Briles is calling certain things, and where they're trying to get him on certain plays.

"I'm here to try and take his game to another level, and he's taken ownership of it," Guiton said. "He's working his butt off, and I think he'll actually reap the benefits of seeing himself getting better at it now."

While Warren continued to rehab his injury during the summer, junior Trey Knox decided to beef up his profile after a disappointing sophomore season.

"'I've put on 15 pounds, hovering around 218-220," Knox said. "I feel a lot faster. I feel a lot more explosive. Just trying to figure out how to play at this size. This is all new to me. I haven't been this big before."

Knox said he's worked hard at figuring out his breaks and improving his route running.

"I never thought I could gain any weight," Knox said, smiling. "I've been a string bean my whole life. It's been pretty fun."

Knox said the weight gain was to help him be more explosive.

"Being stronger and playing more physical and getting guys off me because I have a pretty big frame and I'm trying to fill that out," he said. "I want to play big. I want to play physical, because that's what my body calls me to do."

Warren was in the midst of a breakout senior season with 15 receptions for 278 yards and 3 touchdowns when he tore a knee ligament at Florida in Week 7.

With an option to play a "super senior" season due to the coronavirus outbreak, Warren jumped on it, intensifying his rehab schedule.

"Just being able to have fun and play with the guys I've been with for like the last four years was amazing," Warren said. "Being hurt kind of hurt me. I didn't want to leave these guys hanging. I just wanted to finish what I started."

Tyson Morris, another super senior, could be an X factor based on his skill level.

"He's an explosive guy," Guiton said. "I've talked to Tyson plenty about having the right mindset [to say], 'Hey, I'm going to do my job play-in, play-out and use my ability to the best that I can do.' ... He's a bigger-bodied guy, so I think he's got tools and abilities that we can use."

Cornerbacks coach Sam Carter was asked Sunday which of the receivers has been most impressive through three days in camp.

His answer: The whole group.

"All I know is those guys are giving us everything we can handle," Carter said. "They can't just focus on Burks. Everybody out there is making plays. We have a lot of young guys making plays, but the older guys, T-Mo [Morris], Knox, Warren has been in and out, but those guys are a really good group."

Florida State transfer Warren Thompson, who is listed at 6-3, 205 pounds, has dealt with a hamstring leading into camp, but he was moving well over the weekend.

"We're just trying to get him going where we can really evaluate him, so I'm excited about what he brings to the table," Guiton said. "It's easy to see that he's got some ability."

Other veterans in the mix include John David White, who had five receptions, including a touchdown, in the Red-White game, senior Kendall Catalon, junior transfer Jaquayln Crawford and redshirt freshman Darin Turner. The mix of scholarship newcomers features Ketron Jackson, Bryce Stephens and Jaedon Wilson.

Stephens made a strong diving catch early in camp, and his speed has impressed teammates.

Burks, whose freshman stats trailed Knox's, said all the young players need to keep grinding.

"They're still freshmen and it just takes time, just like it took time with me," he said. "It's a work in progress. If they keep their head on straight, and just work hard, everything will happen. Y'all will see the skills that they can show us from high school to college."