Pettway leading Hogs’ young receivers

By Nate Allen

Special to News-Times

FAYETTEVILLE - With senior receiver Jared Cornelius not reporting to practice until the University of Arkansas fall semester classes start next Monday, the 2017 Razorbacks receiver corps is so young that third-year sophomore sparsely-used 2016 reserves Deon Stewart and La’Michael Pettway rank oldest in tenure.

But they and the true freshmen and new junior college transfers still have a senior plus, Pettway asserts. They have senior returning starter and 2016 SEC passing leader Austin Allen at quarterback.

“That’s like a Tom Brady to a rookie,” Pettway said after Tuesday’s closed practice of Allen’s impact. “Austin is prepared and comes out and he just balls, man. He’s a gamer. And he’s a practicer as well. Every day he comes out and is on point. You want a quarterback like that.”

And Allen appreciates having a receiver like Pettway, the muscular 6-2, 220 Arkansan from Nashville. Especially so after Coach Bret Bielema lit a fire under Pettway with some caustic comments after Pettway’s first few practices that started July 27.

“Unbelievable,” Allen said. “Ever since that day he’s practiced his tail off. He’s out there every day focused, prepared, catching that ball, running those good routes. He’s a big body and I think he’s taken the maturity step to know he’s the guy this year. His whole demeanor has really changed and I couldn’t have been more proud of him.”

Pettway urgently took up Bielema’s urgent edict.

“You get tired of being targeted,” Pettway said. “It’s like Coach B challenged us and we just took the challenge and stepped our game and took it to a whole other level as far as a receiving corps.”

Of his early practices Pettway said, “I had a few mental busts. I had to eliminate whether it was a missed assignment on a block or a snap count. But I’ve eliminated those and feel almost 100 percent.”

Pettway said freshman running back Chase Hayden’s shifty speed accentuates staying on your block and improvising who you might be blocking.

“With Chase you never know,” Pettway said. “He’s the type of guy that can break a run and come back to your side so you have to stay on your P’s and Q’s.”

Third-year sophomore tight end Cheyenne O’Grady of Fayetteville, often in Bielema’s doghouse until towards the end of the 2016 season, continues to blossom with a new image and new approach.

“Early on, when I first got here, I kind of took it as I was one of the better players,” O’Grady said of starring at Fayetteville High. “I kind of took that approach and that’s not going to get it done in this league. Over these past two years that I’ve been here, I watched film, just took the next step that I needed to do and it’s put me in the right position. I just have to keep pressing.”

What about going back to Cheyenne, his given full name, instead of the C.J. he went by at Fayetteville High and past his redshirt year at Arkansas?

“I came in and I wasn’t the greatest student/player to be coached and I kind of got into some trouble early on,” O’Grady recalled of himself as C.J. “I wanted to get away from the people that knew the C.J. and start something new. I wanted people to know I’m a changed guy, I’m a good guy. That’s one of the main reasons I wanted to change my name.”

Climate changed on the Razorbacks Tuesday. The amazingly cool August suddenly heated into the low 90s.

“You could definitely feel a difference today,” sophomore running back Devwah Whaley said. “This had to be the hottest day.”

Whaley said the Razorbacks needed to swelter with their Aug. 31 season-opener against Florida A&M approaching in Little Rock.

“It’s good to go through it because you never know what game day is going to be like,” Whaley said.

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