Hogs future: Dean back in fold after year in stands

Arkansas tight end Demetrius Dean had to wait a year to join the Razorbacks after failing to earn a qualifying score on the ACT, but he enrolled in January and is eager to make up for lost time.

Arkansas tight end Demetrius Dean had to wait a year to join the Razorbacks after failing to earn a qualifying score on the ACT, but he enrolled in January and is eager to make up for lost time.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

— The 19th in a series profiling new additions to the Arkansas football team.

Demetrius Dean caught 149 passes during his high school football career at Fayetteville, but none was bigger than the one-handed grab he made on a two-point coversion against rival Springdale.

It came during his junior year when Dean and quarterback Brandon Allen connected on Fayetteville’s final offensive play to give the Bulldogs a 50-49 victory over Sprindgale at Harmon Field. Dean made the catch over two defenders in the end zone after Allen sidestepped a rusher and threw high for his tight end.

“That was probably the greatest game in the battle of the Bulldogs,” Fayetteville Coach Daryl Patton said after the game. “To be a part of it was a fun time.”

Dean said he hopes to provide more fun times when he joins Allen as a freshman for the Razorbacks this fall.

Both players signed with Arkansas as part of the 2011 recruiting class, but Dean didn’t enroll in school until January after he failed to earn a qualifying score on the ACT. Allen spent last season as a redshirt for Arkansas, which finished 11-2 with a No. 5 final national ranking.

When Dean attended Arkansas’ practices or games last season, he watched from the stands.

“It seemed weird because I was supposed to be out there with them,” said Dean, who had 2,134 receiving yards and 33 touchdowns in three years at Fayetteville. “It was pretty rough. I missed playing.”

Dean, 6-3, 255 pounds, was almost forgotten before he showed up for the Razorbacks’ offseason conditioning workouts last winter. But he soon began to re-establish himself during spring practice and impressed his teammates and coaches with his ability to get open and run after the catch.

“Demetrius had a real good spring, especially early when the playbook was a little more simplified,” quarterback Tyler Wilson said. “I think he did a really good job of coming and getting the respect of a lot of the older guys and showing everybody that he can play at this level.

“I think the next step he’s going to make is getting into the second half of that playbook.”

Dean said he is getting back in football shape after nearly a year off and agrees with Wilson that he needs to be more familiar with the playbook when Arkansas begins fall practice.

“It was real important for me to get back on the field in the spring and show what I could do,” Dean said. “Now I’ve got to learn more of what I’m supposed to be doing on offense, but that shouldn’t be too big of a deal.”

Dean will compete for playing time at tight end behind returning starter Chris Gragg, But Dean already has drawn comparisons to D.J. Williams, who won the Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end in 2010 and now plays for the Green Bay Packers.

“He’s just raw, but he has some of the best hands on the team,” Gragg said. “I always tell him that after he catches the ball he kind of reminds me of D.J. Williams, how he moves with the ball.”

After a year away from football, Dean is eager to get back on the field.

“A lot of people wrote Demetrius off and thought they’d never hear from him again, but he really wanted to be a Razorback and he did what he had to do in the classroom,” Patton said. “I am really proud of Demetrius.”

Sports, Pages 21 on 08/01/2012