Petrino calls on Razorbacks' redshirt freshman receiver to 'step up'

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — As the Arkansas Razorbacks prepare for their trip to Tennessee this weekend, there's a small void in the wide receiver room because of the Jalen Brown's injury.

The Florida State transfer was one of Taylen Green's more consistent options in the passing game, recording 12 catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns. With him out, that forces CJ Brown from primarily inside to the outside while inserting Raylen Sharpe strictly in the slot.

One name Arkansas fans may be keeping tabs on is Missouri transfer and Pine Bluff native Courtney Crutchfield, who entered college as a Top 50 recruit nationally, per 247sports composite rankings.

An explosive three-level playmaker with a propensity for jaw-dropping highlight-reel moments. A receiver who can use his 6-foot-2 frame and top-tier leaping skills to bully defensive backs at the catch point or glide past defenders with his smooth long-striding gait.

Locates the ball in the air at a high level and has a knack for making acrobatic body adjustments at the last moment to secure difficult catches. Plucks the ball out of the air with good arm extension. Will need to become a more efficient and nuanced route runner to beat similarly athletic defenders in the SEC.

Well-rounded skill set should allow him to move around the offense to hunt matchups outside or in the slot. Combination of extremely productive two-way snaps and an elite multi-sport athletic profile offer significant long-term NFL upside.
Hudson Standish, 247sports

While most fans on the outside looking in want microwave results, Crutchfield still has plenty of time to come into his own as a college athlete. It's worth noting his lack of impact through five games into his redshirt freshman season is surprising to those who didn't pay attention to spring practices, but it's extremely rare for Arkansas natives to produce immediately at the next level.

Little Rock product K.J. Hill caught 18 passes for 262 yards and one touchdown as a freshman for Ohio State before finishing his career as the school's all-time leading receiver.

Joe Adams, Greg Childs and Jarius Wright started slow as freshmen under Petrino, but transformed into key cogs on the offense as sophomores.

He has seen action in four games this season, but hasn't pulled in a reception to this point in his college career. Petrino talked about Crutchfield at length during his Monday press conference, encouraging him to step up with Brown out for the season.

"We need Crutchfield to step up," Petrino said. "He’s been doing a really nice job the last few weeks in understanding the offense better, running his routes more precisely. He’s a big, physical guy. He could really help us. He can play football and he can make the plays. It’s really not about that. It’s about that we can trust him to do the right thing on every single play."

Crutchfield arrived to Arkansas a bit out of shape following his freshman season after using his redshirt year under Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz and offensive coordinator Kirby Moore.

His lack of preparation body wise put him behind the 8-ball when it came to making an immediate impact in Petrino's offense.

"When he got here, he was out of shape," Petrino said. "He spent spring just really going. He was heavy. He had a little bit too much adipose tissue in his stomach area, and he worked extremely hard in the summer."

Arkansas Razorbacks wide receiver Courtney Crutchfield running a route in spring practice drills indoors in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Image

Once he understood what was being asked of him during the spring, he returned during the summer in much better shape and ready to take the next step: learning the offense.

Sometimes all it takes is an opportunity for a talented athlete such as Crutchfield to get going and Petrino seems hopeful things can start clicking for him.

"Now he's going eight plays, nine plays in a row, and getting in a position where you really like to see him It took him a little bit of time to learn the offense, that's understandable," Petrino said. "Young guys, it's harder than, say, like [Omega] Blake, who's been through three different installations, and now you pick things up a little bit quicker because you learn how to do it.

"But I do feel extremely excited about Courtney and his abilities, and now he has the understanding of the offense. I'm looking for him to get out there and make plays for us."

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