By Oliver Grigg
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Five Arkansas standouts, led by wide receiver Treylon Burks, have picked up preseason All-SEC recognition. Burks was the Hogs’ lone first-team representative, while Ricky Stromberg, Grant Morgan and Jalen Catalon earned second-team honors at center, linebacker and defensive back, respectively.
Offensive lineman Myron Cunningham, meanwhile, grabbed third-team recognition. The Razorbacks were predicted to finish sixth in the SEC West and received one first-place vote in the media poll, which was released Friday morning along with the preseason All-SEC teams.
Burks has racked up numerous accolades this preseason, including spots on the watch lists for the Maxwell Award and Biletnikoff Award. The wideout led the Razorbacks in catches last season, hauling in 51 passes for 820 yards and seven touchdowns. He finished third in the SEC in receiving yards per game (91.1) and fifth in total receiving yards, logging six games of 90+ receiving yards and four games of 100+ receiving yards as a true sophomore.
The Warren, Ark., native, who earned second-team All-SEC honors after the 2020 campaign, was one of only two FBS receivers to log 800+ receiving yards and 70+ rushing yards on the year.
Stromberg, named to the preseason watch list for the Rimington Trophy, played in nine games with eight starts last season, lining up at center in all of them. He played 628 offensive snaps on the year – the fourth most on the team and third most among offensive linemen – and played every offensive snap of a contest seven times during the campaign.
The junior from Tulsa, Okla., totaled a 69.7 run-blocking grade for the season, ranking second among Hog offensive linemen. He allowed only one sack on 355 pass-blocking plays, posting six games with a pass-blocking grade of 70-plus.
Morgan, a candidate for the 2021 Bednarik Award, was one of the best players in all of college football last year after producing one of the greatest seasons in Arkansas history. The Greenwood, Ark., product, who was named a Walter Camp and AFCA Second Team All-American at the year’s end, posted a team-best 111 total tackles, including 7.5 for loss, with 2.0 sacks in 2020.
The linebacker finished tied for the nation’s lead in tackles per game (12.3) while intercepting one pass, breaking up five and registering one quarterback hurry. Originally a walk-on, Morgan joined Martrell Spaight (2014) as the only two Razorback defenders to garner both AP and Coaches All-SEC recognition in the last 10 seasons.
Catalon, also named to the watch list for the Bednarik Award, was tabbed to the All-SEC First Team by the AP and named a Freshman All-American by the FWAA last season after logging 99 total tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, three interceptions, four pass break-ups, one fumble recovery and two forced fumbles as a redshirt freshman. The Mansfield, Texas, native was the first Razorback defensive back to earn All-SEC honors from the league’s coaches since Michael Grant (2007).
Cunningham anchored Arkansas’ offensive line at left tackle last year, starting all 10 games while playing 705 snaps – the most of any Razorback. The redshirt senior from Warren, Ohio, produced four games with an 80-plus passing grade, allowed only two sacks and was flagged just four times during the 2021 campaign.
The Razorbacks open the season at home against former Southwest Conference rival Rice at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4, on SEC Network+/ESPN+.
