Arkansas TE Luke Hasz leaves game vs. Texas A&M with injury, will not return

Arkansas tight end Luke Hasz will not return to Saturday’s game against Texas A&M after suffering an injury. He went down early in the first quarter and was seen on the sideline with an ice pack on his shoulder.

Hasz has been a key part of Arkansas’ passing attack this year as a true freshman. He entered Week 5 as the Razorbacks’ second-leading receiver with 239 yards to go with three touchdowns, which tied for the team lead.

Hasz arrived on campus as a four-star recruit out of Bixby (OK) High School. He was the No. 212-ranked prospect in the nation from the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Arkansas brought a 2-2 record into Saturday’s game, but the offense got a big boost with the return of Raheim “Rocket” Sanders from injury. He missed the last three matchups, but was back on the field against Texas A&M as the Razorbacks looked to get back above .500.

The rivalry games against Texas A&M haven’t gone well for Arkansas

Texas A&M has dominated the rivalry with Arkansas, winning 10 of the last 11 matchups between the two programs. Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman wants to embrace the rivalry and make sure the game means more than others on the schedule.

“The rivalry for us has to mean more than them,” Pittman said. “I don’t know how much you can truly respect an opponent that you’ve beaten 10 out of 11 times.”

A few of Texas A&M’s victories have been blowouts. The 2012 game wound up being a 48-point difference, as Johnny Manziel threw for 453 yards and three touchdowns. But other games have been absolute heartbreaks for Arkansas. Six losses for Arkansas vs. Texas A&M have been decided by a possession or less. Three of them came in overtime.

Pittman understands Arkansas went through some difficult years but not too many rivalries — something he still believes it is — have the same school winning 10 out of the last 11 matchups.

“We’re one out of the last 11,” Pittman said. “I’ve been on some of those overtime losses where the game looked like it was ours — just like last year. It’s definitely a rivalry for us. You don’t see many series lopsided at 1-10 like that. But we did go through some rough, rough years.”

On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.