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A couple players slipped farther than expected, but five Razorbacks were drafted this weekend. Most players seemed to fall into good situations, Alex Collins should get a good shot at some playing time in Seattle, Sebastian Tretola will have some words with Marcus Mariota about the 2014 Heisman, and new offensive line coach Kurt Anderson says Jonathan Williams will have a good time in Buffalo.
@Jwillpart2 @buffalobills you're going to love that RB room and running behind that OL!
— Kurt Anderson (@OLINEPRIDE) April 30, 2016
The five Hogs were part of the SEC's leading 51 selections in the draft. The conference narrowly beat out the Big Ten (who was largely carried by Ohio State) for the 10th year in a row. S-E-C! S-E-C! S-E-C!
Denver Kirkland left the program early for the draft, and unfortunately was one of thirty players who declared early and were not drafted along with a handful of SEC players. He was still able to sign a deal with the Oakland Raiders. All is not lost for Kirkland though, the last Razorback to declare early and then go undrafted is arguably one of the most successful former Hogs in the NFL. Jason Peters went undrafted in 2004 and has since made eight pro bowls and has been first team All-Pro twice while with the Bills and Eagles.
After a long and intense split doubleheader, the Hogs dropped the series finale against No. 2 Texas A&M. With the loss Arkansas is now in a four way tie in the SEC Standings with Auburn, Georgia and Missouri. The bottom two teams in the SEC miss out on the SEC Tournament, so unless Tennessee puts some wins together than one of the four teams will be absent from any post season play.
It wasn't all bad news. The win and extra innings loss boosted the team's RPI into the 70's. Most of the last at-large teams in D1Baseball's most recent regional projections are around the 50-55 range so Arkansas has some climbing to do. One of those teams happens to be Alabama, who the Hogs will at Baum in a little less than two weeks. The Hogs will definitely need some wins in all of their remaining series, but that weekend against the Tide could be the make or break moment for any post season hopes.