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Upon Further Review: Cornelius shows big play ability in 38-yard touchdown
By Drew Laing
Published:
Arkansas fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The 10-game losing streak is no more, thanks to a 73-7 blowout over Nicholls State. You almost had to feel bad for the Colonels on Saturday. It was obvious that the Razorbacks used their Southland Conference opponent as a punching bag, receiving all of the anger and frustration that comes with losing 10 straight games.
Out of the bevy of touchdowns, one stuck out above the rest: Brandon Allen’s shovel pass to true freshman wide receiver Jared Cornelius for a 38-yard touchdown at the beginning of the third quarter.
At this point, the game has long been decided with the Hogs up 56-0 just after halftime. However, it’s who is involved on this play that makes it stand out above the rest.
Jared Cornelius is a guy Arkansas fans have been excited about since he committed back on December 18, 2013. At 6-foot-1, 200-pounds he’s got the size and athleticism to be a key playmaker for wide receivers corps that’s lacked a big-play guy since the days of Joe Adams, Cobi Hamilton and Greg Childs.
He takes the shovel pass from Allen and immediately shows off his biggest asset: his speed. Cornelius receives the ball in the middle of the field. Up ahead, the Nicholls State safety has about a 13-yard gap in between him and Cornelius.
That should be enough to beat Cornelius to the edge and bring down him down, right? Wrong.
Cornelius jets around the would-be tackler as he turns the corner to head up field. Thanks to some great blocking by both Demetrius Wilson and Keon Hatcher, Cornelius is given the room he needs to operate. Despite being just a freshman, Cornelius shows great field vision side-stepping and juking his way past another three Nicholls State defenders on his way for the score.
It’s plays like these that Hogs fans are hoping to see more out of the electrifying freshman. Besides Cornelius, Hatcher is the only other wide receiver that can threaten to beat defenses deep. Everyone knows about Arkansas running backs, but it’s the passing game defenses don’t respect. If this kind of play becomes the norm for Cornelius, you’ll start seeing defenses playing Arkansas more honest, which should even further open up spaces for their running backs.
A dynamic Cornelius equals a dynamic Arkansas offense.
Drew Laing will be providing analysis and insight on Florida, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina.