Razorbacks' Isaiah Sategna May Be Ready to Make Leap

Wide receivers coach Kenny Guiton thinks he's turned that corner good players do

Author:
Andy Hodges
Publish date:
Aug 9, 2023 4:55 PM EDT

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — You can usually tell when players change from wide-eyed freshmen to someone ready to jump up and start making plays. Redshirt freshman wide receiver Isaiah Sategna may be ready to do just that.

Usually, it translates into not thinking and just letting whatever their level of talent is come to the front. The speedster's wide receivers coach, Kenny Guiton, indicated that with the media Tuesday morning.

"You can tell he’s at that point," Guiton said. "His maturity level and how much he’s grown from last fall to spring ball to now, it’s a big jump. He’s a guy that understands what we want to get done when you make a play call. He’s able to go out and execute."

Sategna has the speed. He made headlines at Fayetteville High School catching, returning and making one big play after another with the Bulldogs. He spent most of his redshirt year just trying to figure things out.

"I’m a lot better player than I was last year. Just the new schemes that we’re drawing up,” Sategna said in the spring. “I had seen [Lorando Johnson] tucked in a little bit. Looked like he was going to maybe blitz, which was the nickel, so I knew that it was going to be one-on-one with The Mike linebacker, which was Grier."

In that spring game, he finally showed Razorback fans what he could do on the field. That play he was talking about was catching a 65-yard bomb from quarterback KJ Jefferson. Antonio Grier tried to stay with him but that wasn't even close to fair.

"My focus since the spring game has just been to focus on the little stuff and the details," Sategna said. "Working on my route running and my blocking and obviously my catching."

He's one of those guys that has used his track skills to make him a better football player. All the skills tend to help other ones get consistently better. Sategna looks like a football guy who could also run track.

""Football, it translates to the track really well," Sategna said. "I just try and use track as much as I can whenever I’m in my receiver stance, just pushing out like I’m in blocks and stuff and just have big, long strides when I’m in the open field. And then kind of chop it down a little bit whenever it gets a bit closer."

The Hogs will open the season Sept. 2 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock against Western Carolina on what promised to be a really hot 3 p.m. start with aluminum bleachers to sit on for most fans. The game will only be streamed on ESPN+.