Arkansas Football Countdown: 85 Days

Day 85's profile begins with current holder of No. 85, Demetrius Dean, a sophomore tight end from Fayetteville.

Coach Bret Bielema said this spring that Dean could see time at various positions this fall, including splitting time with Kiero Small at fullback, because it better suits Dean's skill set.

Speaking of skill sets, his size at 6-foot-3 and 250-pounds is similar to another quality tight end to come through the ranks at Arkansas, one D.J. Williams. But if the staff sees Dean translate more to the fullback position, watching the evolution of Bielema and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney's offense will be all the more interesting.

For what it's worth, last season at Tennesse, Cheney's top receiving fullback averaged almost 10 yards per catch. It could also mean that Dean shows outstanding blocking skills, an essential part to a successful running game. All of these are good things.

Dean was high school teammates with quarterback Brandon Allen so here's to hoping some of that chemistry is found again whether Dean is lining up at tight end or fullback.

Here is Dean catching a few one-handed passes from Allen in high school. The second video he caught the ball but was ruled out of bounds. No one should doubt his hands.

A former No. 85 was Marcus Monk, who led SEC freshman in receiving in 2004 while setting an Arkansas school record for receptions with 37 and was subsequently named to the Freshman All-SEC team.

Monks best season came as a Junior when he set another school record with 11 touchdown receptions, accumulating 50 catches for 962 yards. But his Senior season was cut short due to a knee injury in the offseason,

He finished seventh on the SEC's all-time list for touchdown receptions which is pretty amazing considering the amount of variation from the run game Houston Nutt displayed...

The Chicago Bears selected the Lepanto native in the 7th round of the 2008 NFL Draft.

Monk's basketball skills shouldn't go unnoticed. And while he never caught a pass in the NFL, Monk did play professional basketball in Germany.