FOOTBALL
Fayetteville tight end commits to Razorbacks
Fayetteville tight end C.J. O'Grady announced his oral commitment to Arkansas on Twitter during an unofficial visit on Wednesday.
O'Grady, 6-4, 230, 4.8 seconds in the 40-yard dash, choose the Hogs over scholarship offers from Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Louisville and others.
"I chose Arkansas because it is close to home and won't be difficult for my family to come see me play," O'Grady said. "I also chose Arkansas because I know they have struggled a little bit in the past few years and I wanted to try and help bring things to the table to build something strong for this team."
As a junior, he recorded 45 receptions for 884 yards and 8 touchdowns, and was named to the All-Arkansas Preps team in his first year to play tight end.
His late father, Larry Marks, lettered for the basketball Hogs from 1988 to 1990.
"I've always been a fan and I wanted to try and start a legacy," O'Grady said. "My dad went here, I'm going here, and maybe someday my kids will go here."
Bielema currently has five tight ends -- Travis Beckum, Garrett Graham, Jake Byrne (Rogers), Lance Kendrick and Jake Pedersen -- on NFL rosters. O'Grady said that made a big impact on his decision.
He said Bielema was happy when he told him of the pledge. "He had the biggest smile on his face and nearly crushed me when giving me a hug," O'Grady said.
O'Grady becomes the Hogs' ninth commitment. Oral commitments are nonbinding.
TRACK AND FIELD
UA teams third in McDonnell standings
Arkansas' men's and women's cross country and track and field teams each finished third in the 2014 John McDonnell Division I Program of the Year standings, which are named in honor of the former Razorbacks coach and are awarded annually by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association to the most outstanding cross country and track and field programs in each of the NCAA's three divisions for each gender.
Teams are ranked based on adding up their national finishes with one point for a championship, two points for a runner-up finish and so on.
Oregon won this year's men's McDonnell award with 7 points, followed by Oklahoma State (23), Arkansas (23.5), Wisconsin (29.5) and Florida (34).
Arkansas won the award last year.
"Obviously, we try to win the award every year," Arkansas Coach Chris Bucknam said in a news release. "Hats off to Oregon for the great year they had.
"Finishing in the top three in the nation is something we take pride in. Our goal is to be highly successful in all three of our disciplines -- cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field. We won it last year and it has become the gold standard for us in terms of measuring the overall strength of our program. To be in the top three with Oregon and Oklahoma State, we're in good company. By finishing in the top three sends a message that we are committed to excellence in all three of those disciplines. We will continue to strive to win that trophy again next year."
Oregon's women's team also won the McDonnell award with 18 points, followed by Stanford (29.5), Arkansas (30), Dartmouth (49) and Iowa State (50.5)
BASKETBALL
Hannahs to play for USA team
FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas guard Dusty Hannahs, a former Little Rock Pulaski Academy standout who transferred from Texas Tech to the UA after last season, was named to the USA East Coast All-Star team Wednesday.
The USA team will play in the Four Nations Cup in Estonia Aug. 4-6 with games against the national teams of Estonia, Slovakia and France. The USA team also will play an exhibition game against Finland's national team Aug. 7.
Hannah will redshirt during the 2014-15 season, then has two seasons of eligibility left to play for the Razorbacks.
Sports on 06/19/2014