By NATE ALLEN
Special to The Leader
HOOVER, Ala. – Coach Bret Bielema realized early in his first season at Arkansas that he inherited a redshirt freshman tight end Jeremy Sprinkle was too skinny and too disinclined academically to perform to his potential.
But now as a fifth-year senior, Sprinkle is officially under consideration to win the same Mackey award that former Razorback Hunter Henry won last year as the best tight end in the country. Academically, Sprinkle is a two-time SEC Honor roll student, and now plays as a graduate student since earning a degree in sports management.
For that turnaround, Bielema credits Sprinkle, strength coach Ben Herbert, tight end coach Barry Lunney and perhaps reprising the old TV show “Father Knows Best.”
“I remember the crossroad his sophomore year when he wasn’t doing what I wanted him to do in the classroom, off the field, A to Z,” Bielema said during Arkansas’ session of this week’s SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala. “So I did the simple thing. I called his dad. We sat down with his dad and talked with dad about where he (Jeremy) wanted to be, if he wanted to do it. From that point forward he’s been a different guy.”
The Bobby Petrino regime signed Sprinkle out of White Hall knowing it would take considerable time in the weight room to convert Sprinkle from too spindly for even a basketball small forward into an SEC tight end.
Even after the 2012 fall he mostly spent in the weight room while redshirting during John L. Smith’s 4-8 season as interim coach, Sprinkle barely exceeded 200 pounds.
“I look at Jeremy Sprinkle,” Bielema mused. “When I got there he was 6-6, 205 pounds. If he turned sideways, you couldn’t see him. He was skinny as skinny gets. Now he’s a 6-6, 250-pound man that’s ready to make his mark in tight end play on our team, and in this conference, and in this country. He can be a Mackey Award winner. He’s got that much talent.”
Sprinkle’s seasons reflect annual improvement. As a 2013 redshirt freshman reserve he caught 4 passes for 68 yards, including a 44-yarder from Brandon Allen against Mississippi State, and played on special teams.
In 2014 Sprinkle became Arkansas’ best all-round player on special teams. He played on all of them while making a team-leading nine special teams tackles and caught seven passes for 84 yards and a touchdown.
Last year Sprinkle and Henry blossomed together. Henry, 51 catches for 739 yards and three touchdowns, likely wouldn’t have had those kind of Mackey Award winning stats without Sprinkle subbing to keep him fresh. Better still, their combined presence in multiple tight end sets created havoc. Defenses scrambled to cover two tight ends both over 6-5 with receivers speed and soft hands who blocked like tackles.
It worked both ways. Henry’s presence no doubt helped free Sprinkle for his career best 27 catches for 389 yards and a SEC tight ends leading six touchdown catches including three in one game against Mississippi State.
“Just having both of us out there last year made mismatches for the defenses and it gave us both opportunities,” Sprinkle said. “I was able to learn things from him last year to work on my game and apply what I learned.”
It’s often been said replacing Henry as the No. 1 tight end won’t be nearly so difficult as replacing Sprinkle as the 1A tight end equally dangerous.
There is no lack for candidates but much lack of backup experience. Junior special-teamer Anthony Antwine, Jack Kraus, the third-year sophomore from Bentonville lettering last season but coming off knee surgery, and 2015 redshirt freshmen Will Gragg of Dumas, Cheyenne O’Grady of Fayetteville and Austin Cantrell of Roland, Okla., compete as do a couple of redshirt freshman converts from the defensive line, Jamario Bell of Junction City and Jake Hall of Springdale Har-Ber.
“Last year we were a two tight end team and really based around a 12-man personnel team,” Sprinkle said. “I feel like over the summer it’s going to be who can provide the most versatility. The more things you can do on the football field gives you a better chance to play. Honestly, it’s more of the coach’s job to figure that out, but some people have stepped up over the summer and I’m sure that someone during fall camp will emerge. Someone just will have to emerge.”
