Saturday Blitz
Fansided

Arkansas Football: Jonathan Nance primed for tremendous 2018 season

By Andrew Miller

BATON ROUGE, LA - NOVEMBER 11: Jonathan Nance #7 of the Arkansas Razorbacks avoids a tackle Frank Herron #97 of the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium on November 11, 2017 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LA - NOVEMBER 11: Jonathan Nance #7 of the Arkansas Razorbacks avoids a tackle Frank Herron #97 of the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium on November 11, 2017 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

A program to watch in the SEC West this year is Arkansas football, thanks to returning standouts like wide receiver Jonathan Nance.

Arkansas football should have a more high-powered offense in 2018 behind first-year head football coach Chad Morris. Bret Bielema ran a completely different scheme relying more on clock management than putting up points and opening up the field. Morris will have a tighter focus on maximizing the efficiency of the offense given the talent at hand on that side of the ball.

A few key returning offensive weapons for the Razorbacks includes junior running back Devwah Whaley, sophomore running back Chase Hayden and junior receiver Jonathan Nance. The passing game for the Hogs is likely to be the most improved portion of the entire team this year.

Arkansas struggled to get anything going for either the passing game, of defending the pass in 2017. Having a few different quarterbacks get snaps last year due to injury issues with Austin Allen caused the offense to get out of rhythm. And, it seemed like nothing could help the defense stop anyone at the same time.

The only Arkansas wide receiver to eclipse the 500-yard mark last season was Nance. He racked up 37 catches for 539 yards and five touchdowns. Nance led Arkansas in those three stat categories last year. The second leading Hogs’ wide receiver from last year, Deon Stewart, also returns in 2018.

If things go as planned for the Arkansas offense this fall, Nance is in store for a huge season. He could easily get above the 700 receiving yard mark with eight touchdowns if either Cole Kelley or Ty Storey has a solid performance under center, depending on who gets the nod from Morris.

Next: 5 must-win games for Arkansas Football in 2018

Another key returning weapon for the Hogs this fall is senior wide receiver Jared Cornelius, who got a medical redshirt last season. Skill position weapons like Cornelius, Stewart, and Whaley should help open up more room in the passing game for Nance. He’s quick and has the unique ability to rack up good chunks of yards after each catch. Nance could be an All-SEC receiver when it’s all said and done for the upcoming season.

Home/Arkansas Razorbacks