One Major Reason Hogs Fans Think Hasz Left Easily Disproven

Doesn't take much to show star tight end had other motivations when leaving Arkansas

Arkansas Razorbacks tight end Luke Hasz tries to break a tackle against Western Carolina last September at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. / Ted McClenning-allHOGS Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — When Arkansas tight end Luke Hasz caught everyone off guard by declaring his intentions to enter the transfer portal, the immediate reaction from Hogs fans had one of two major points:
1) Someone called up his agent and offered a big bag of sweet cold hard cash.
2) He was frustrated because Bobby Petrino and the Razorbacks weren't utilizing him properly in this offense.

Well, that second reason is still hanging around, so it's time to give it the sniff test and realize this is one that needs to be bagged up for early spring so it can be spread across the garden as quality fertilizer. See, while it felt like Hasz was underutilized so the grass must be greener elsewhere, it turns out that isn't the case, especially considering his final destination was Ole Miss.

Hasz finished with 324 yards on 26 receptions and was the featured tight end through several games where it may have been more prudent to give someone else the spotlight and let him rest up an obvious back injury. Still, Petrino and head coach Sam Pittman agreed to keep him on the field even though it took away a major weapon in the offense.

Had Hasz been healthy all season, he would have easily finished third on the team in receptions and possibly pushed for second. Despite not being a feasible target for several weeks, he still finished only two catches behind Isaac TeSlaa for fourth on the list.

So, surely Lane Kiffin must have Ole Miss utilizing the Rebels' featured tight end at a much higher rate than Petrino used his often injured star in the passing game. Turns out, not so much.

Their leading tight end, Caden Prieskorn had two fewer receptions than Hasz. He put up 375 yards on 24 catches.

Their other tight end, Dae'Quan Wright, also had 24 catches that he was able to convert into 321 yards. Both also had one fewer touchdown than Hasz, so increased red zone opportunities wasn’t a factor either.

A healthy Hasz would have had much bigger numbers than any Ole Miss tight end had he not had to grimace and fall down when making catches. As it was, he still had a bigger year along with the opportunity to come back healthy with an offensive coordinator who is no stranger into turning tight ends into stars when they are fully functional.

Petrino started off the season getting him the ball multiple times per game. However, once his back started bothering him, it's easy to see they tested him with a quick short pass to see if he could hold up, and then moved on until the next week.

Finally, once he got back to his old self, Hasz had multiple catches in six straight games. He had four catches and a pair of touchdown against Mississippi State and then five catches and a touchdown against Ole Miss.

That was probably more than enough for boosters down in Mississippi to see an investment needed to be made. He even got three catches in the snow at Missouri when passing wasn't exactly the most easy thing to do.

The Hogs more than proved they will go to him when he is healthy, and it stands to reason that with an offseason to ponder ways to make even better use of him, Petrino would have featured Hasz even more. As for the money, reports have been all over the place as to how close Arkansas was to what Ole Miss offered.

There's no way to know anything official because players and their families don't have to tell anyone how much is being given, and, if they do, there's not much incentive to be honest about it. It's always best to let minds wander as to how absurdly big that amount actually is just in case the need arises to make one last move before jetting off to the NFL.

But there's one thing that doesn't require guessing. Hasz didn't leave because Ole Miss is burning up the football field with individual tight end production.

When it comes to production, the grass simply wasn’t greener down in Oxford when it comes to tight ends.

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