Sam Pittman says Arkansas in 'a really good place' with Jalen Catalon injury

Arkansas‘ 2022 season hasn’t gone the way many Razorbacks fans would have hoped, thanks in large part to an avalanche of injuries in the secondary. None were as impactful as the Jalen Catalon injury, a season-ending injury that deprived Arkansas of its 2020 first-team All-SEC defender.

Catalon suffered a shoulder injury in the season opener against Cincinnati that required season-ending surgery. Now the redshirt junior will have a decision to make on his future.

“Really I don’t want to steal what he wants to do,” coach Sam Pittman said Monday, asked about how Catalon has been doing mentally and what his future with the program might be. “I would suppose here after the game he’ll put something out about his return or his not return. I don’t want to steal his thunder on either one of those things.

“But we’re in a really good place with J. He’s been away for a while, he had those two injuries and I just told him, ‘Take some time off, get healed and do all those things.'”

Catalon was a star for the Razorbacks in the COVID-impacted 2020 campaign, earning first-team All-SEC honors after racking up 99 tackles, 2.0 tackles for a loss, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and seven pass breakups. He also scored a defensive touchdown that year.

However, Catalon’s career has since been hampered by injuries.

Jalen Catalon injury the second season-ender for him

Catalon’s promising trajectory was thrown off course when he suffered a season-ending injury midway through his redshirt sophomore campaign in 2021.

The Arkansas veteran played in six games before his season ended.

In his career with the Razorbacks, Catalon has recorded 151 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, five interceptions, three forced fumbles and 14 pass breakups, while finding the end zone once.

Suffice it to say if he decided to return to school it would be a huge boost for Arkansas.

“I’ve obviously had conversation with him and I’ll let him tell y’all when he’s ready to tell you what his decision is whether he comes back or declares for the league,” Pittman said.