His Idea: Trey Knox Becoming Big Target at Tight End Crunch Time for Hogs

After switching to tight end, Knox has become key player in two-minute drills

When push comes to shove as the clock is running down, Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson looks for Trey Knox.

Even with the tall receiver moving to tight end.

"The two-minute drill just likes me, I guess," Knox said this week with a chuckle. "They like throwing me the ball when it’s crunch time. I just have to make plays when there are plays to be made."

Knox caught three passes for 16 yards on Arkansas’ game-winning drive against Mississippi State. This season he has nine catches for 63 yards and a touchdown.

It's been a season of learning a new position from wide receiver.

"It was really my idea," Knox said. "I was like ‘Move me to tight end. I feel like I can be really good at tight end. I know I can block. Being the hybrid kind of guy, that’s what a lot of NFL teams like.’

"I just thought it’s a thing that I should bite at and I would have great success with."

His career started in 2019 with a bang, then he battled injuries and disappeared for most of 2020.

Then he went to the coaches with the idea of moving to tight end.

"Because he wanted to do it, it was a much smoother transition and he made it work," Pittman said this week. "He's going to be a really good tight end."

He also put on some weight, but Hogs coach Sam Pittman wants him bigger, especially if Knox wants to play in the NFL.

Now he's trying to figure out how to keep the muscle and weight gains he made in the spring and off-season.

"Gaining weight is way harder in the season than the off-season," Knox said. "You’re always running around every day for three months, four months straight. Trying to keep weight on is very hard.

"But I’ve gained about five pounds, so I’m sitting at about 225 right now. Five pounds doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is a lot for being in-season."

One of the off-season goals will be putting good weight on Knox.

"We'll work in the offseason to get him better so he can be a little more physical," Pittman said. "But it says a lot about him and we certainly didn't want him to transfer. It says a lot about him and I think he's bought all 100 percent in on tight end."

Arkansas will face LSU on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in Baton Rouge. The game will be televised on the SEC Network and FuboTV.

You can listen to the game at HitThatLine.com, ESPN Arkansas 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and central Arkansas, 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.

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