Pittman Might Have Found Extra Punt Returner With Dynamic Ability

Arkansas' oldest true freshman looking to leave mark on Razorbacks team with special teams ability

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman at the Red-White game in Razorback stadium April 13, 2024 in Fayetteville, Ark. / Michael Morrison-allHOGS Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Razorbacks already have their starter for the second consecutive season with wide receiver Isaiah Sategna returning punts.

Most will remember his electric return against BYU during the first quarter which put Arkansas ahead 14-0. Still, throwing a dog a special teams bone may be worth it despite the lock Sategna seems to have on the position, if, for nothing else, to throw a wrinkle out there.

Walk-on wide receiver Monte Harrison was mentioned during Sam Pittman's annual Little Rock Touchdown Club speech Monday as a possible option at punt returner. He has been running with the one's at receiver in practice lately with starters Andrew Armstrong and Tyrone Broden nursing injuries.

Arkansas' addition of Harrison caught quite a bit of attention as he joined the team during the spring following a decade-long career in the MLB. He is still hungry for athletic success, so he enrolled at Arkansas with the purpose to play football this fall.

The headlines and social media posts by the likes of Lebron James and other major professional athletes aren't what he's chasing. He wants to do what ever possible to help the Razorbacks win in 2024.

"I forgot to tell you about the wide receiver," Pittman said during the LTDC meeting. "He had a birthday, Monte Harrison. He is now the third oldest guy in the building: me, Bobby [Petrino] and him at 29.

"We asked him could he return punts and he said 'Hey, have you seen me in centerfield? If you can run down a baseball, you can sure run down a football.'" Pittman continued. "Well, I felt dumb. I didn't know that. One place I didn't play when I played baseball was centerfield. Catcher? There ya go."

No definitive answer was given if Harrison will actually play punt returner this fall. He's listed at 6-foot-3, 230 pounds on the official roster, which makes him an intriguing option in the open field. Here's one impressive highlight of him scaling the centerfield wall in 2021.

Now, Harrison didn't decide to walk-on and play football at the collegiate level all of a sudden. He was a 4-star receiver during the 2014 recruiting cycle out of Lee's Summit, Missouri.

He was predicted to land at Nebraska under Bo Pelini after an excellent high school career. As a senior, he recorded 60 receptions for 1,007 receiving yards, 13 receiving touchdowns.

Harrison also tacked on another 198 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. The Razorbacks will begin its season next Thursday evening, Aug. 29 with kickoff set for 6:30 P.M. under the lights of War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. It will air on SEC Network+ with Justin Kutcher and Dan Mullen on the call.

HOGS FEED:

• Overview of year one expectations for Razorbacks under Calipari

• Dix looking to make use of experience he brings to Arkansas defense

• Razorbacks NIL undercurrent Pittman's LRTD Club speech

• Subscribe and follow us on YouTube
• Follow allHOGS on X and Facebook