SE, 6-6, 220

SR-3L

Lepanto, Ark.

(East Poinsett County HS)

OUTLOOK: A year after breaking the UA record for touchdown catches, Monk will have his eyes on another milestone in 2007. The first-team pre-season all-conference selection will be looking to break the Southeastern Conference record for receiving touchdowns. Monk is tops among active SEC wide receivers with 24 touchdown catches and is only eight scores shy of breaking the league record of 31 held by Florida’s Chris Doering. He has caught at least one pass in all 36 career games including 27 multiple-catch outings. He has put himself in position to leave his mark in the record books. He ranks fourth in UA history in receiving yards (2,007) and sixth in career receptions (122) entering his final collegiate campaign. The fact that the three-year starter even has a shot at a bevy of records is a credit to the senior’s patience and ability. Throughout Monk’s career in Fayetteville, the Razorbacks have struggled to field a consistent passing game while at the same time housing a league-leading rushing attack. He was projected by some as a prime candidate to leave for the NFL after his junior year, however, the Arkansas native is back for his senior season. A pre-season candidate for the Maxwell Award and the Biletnikoff Award, Monk appears to be ready for a sensational finale to a record-setting career.

2006: Monk was the Razorbacks’ go-to guy and starter at split end for the third-consecutive season. He led the Hogs with 50 catches for 962 yards and a school-record 11 receiving touchdowns. He also eclipsed Anthony Lucas’ career touchdown reception record (23) with his final touchdown catch of the season. He earned both the season and career records on a 48-yard touchdown pass from Casey Dick in the SEC Championship Game. Monk snared a touchdown pass in nine of the Razorbacks’ 14 contests. His 962 receiving yards ranked third on the UA single-season chart while his 50 receptions ranked tied for seventh. He ranked ninth in the SEC and 42nd in the nation with an average of 68.1 receiving yards per game. Monk earned multiple catches in 10 of 14 games, including seven games of four or more receptions. He tallied three 100-yard receiving games on the season (Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Tennessee). – Monk opened the season with four catches for 44 yards against No. 6 USC. He tallied three receptions for 56 yards, including a 38-yard gain against Utah State. He hauled in his first touchdown of the season on a 13-yard pass from Mitch Mustain late in the second quarter. Monk earned the first 100-yard receiving game of his career with 124 yards and a touchdown on five catches in the Hogs’ 21-19 win at Vanderbilt. He earned a career high in receiving yardage (124) and snared a career-long reception (56 yards) for a touchdown on the Hogs’ first offensive series. It was the longest pass play for the Razorbacks since midway through the 2004 season. In addition to the 56-yard gainer, he made receptions for 7, 9, 11 and 41 yards. His 41-yard catch set up another Arkansas score. In fact, the Razorbacks scored on three of the four drives in which Monk caught a pass against the Commodores. He made two catches for 53 yards, including a long gain of 43 yards, in the Hogs’ 24-23 win over No. 22 Alabama. His 53-yards receiving moved him into the top 10 on the UA career receiving yards list. He made only one catch against No. 2 Auburn, but it was a key play in the Hogs’ 27-10 upset of the Tigers. He wrestled away a Mustain pass from an Auburn defender and raced 50 yards for the Hogs’ first touchdown in the first quarter. The 50-yard touchdown reception was the second-longest of his career. He snagged four balls for 57 yards in Arkansas’ 63-7 win over Southeast Missouri State. He tallied catches of 9, 9, 15 and 24 yards against the Redhawks. Two of his four catches moved the chains. He caught two passes from both Mustain and reserve quarterback Casey Dick. He extended his consecutive reception streak to 29 games with one catch for 15 yards in Arkansas’ 38-3 win over Ole Miss. Monk tiptoed near the sideline at the one-yard line to snare the Mustain pass. The catch netted a first down and set up a Peyton Hillis rushing touchdown. He tied a season-high with five catches for 51 yards and two touchdowns in the Hogs’ 44-10 win over Louisiana-Monroe. The two 12-yard scores tied a career high and marked the fourth time Monk has hauled in two touchdown receptions in a game during his career. He snared passes of 3, 5, 12, 12 and 19 yards against the Warhawks. Monk turned in a career game at South Carolina with eight catches for 192 yards and a touchdown. He averaged an impressive 24.0 yards per catch with grabs of 37, 18, 50, 18, 24, 5, 26 and 14 yards. His 192-receiving yards were the fifth-most in a single game in school history. He matched his career high with eight receptions for 137 yards and two touchdowns in Arkansas’ 31-14 win over No. 13 Tennessee. Monk hauled in scoring catches of 10 yards from Dick and 12 yards from tailback Darren McFadden. He tallied catches of 4, 10, 11, 12, 12, 20, 33 and 35 yards. Six of his eight catches went for first downs with another going for a touchdown. He averaged 17.1 yards per catch against the Volunteers. Monk hauled in four catches for 80 yards and a touchdown in the Hogs’ win at Mississippi State. His TD came on a 35-yard pass from Dick in the third quarter. The scoring play was a double-reverse pass and began with McFadden taking the snap and pitching it to Felix Jones. Jones then flipped it back to Dick who hit Monk in stride for the touchdown. He also made three first down catches of 12, 16 and 17 yards against the Bulldogs. Monk extended his consecutive reception streak to 34 games with a 21-yard touchdown catch against No. 9 LSU. He hauled in the pass from Dick in the second quarter. The touchdown reception was the 10th of the season and the 23rd of his career tying him with Anthony Lucas for the UA season and career records. It also extended his touchdown reception streak to five-consecutive games. Monk earned three catches for 69 yards and a touchdown in the SEC Championship Game against Florida. He passed Lucas (23) for the most career touchdown receptions by a Razorback when he hauled in his 24th career touchdown on a 48-yard pass from Dick in the second quarter. His 11th touchdown catch of the season also surpassed Lucas’ UA single-season record (10). Monk also earned an 18-yard catch for a first down and a three-yard catch against the Gators. He tallied his fourth tackle of the season as well. He extended his consecutive games with a reception streak to 36 games with one reception against No. 7 Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl. The reception gained 13 yards and a first down in the third quarter. Monk also racked up his fifth tackle of the season against the Badgers.

2005: He started all 11 games for the Razorbacks at split end in 2005. He was the Hogs’ most effective wide receiver, hauling in 35 catches for 476 yards and seven touchdowns. He led the team in receiving yards (476) and touchdowns (seven) and ranked second to fullback Peyton Hillis (38) in receptions. He caught a pass in every game of the 2005 season, extending his career streak to 22 games. His seven touchdowns ranked fifth-best in the SEC in 2005 and established a new personal career high in that category. His average of 3.18 receptions per game ranked 12th in the league and his 43.3 yards-per-contest average ranked 13th among SEC players. – He tallied six catches for 77 yards and a touchdown in the season opener against Missouri State. He scored on a five-yard pass from Robert Johnson. He followed up his season-opening performance with another quality effort against Vanderbilt. He made five catches for 59 yards and a seven-yard touchdown reception against the Commodores. He was one of few bright spots in Arkansas’ loss at No. 1 USC. He snared three catches for 33 yards and two touchdowns against the top-ranked Trojans. He caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Johnson in the second quarter and a five-yard scoring pass from Alex Mortensen in the fourth quarter. He hauled in four passes for 47 yards at Alabama with a long of 19 yards. He caught two passes for 26 yards in a win over Louisiana-Monroe. He made just one catch against Auburn as the Hogs struggled to develop a consistent passing game. His 18-yard grab did give the Hogs a first down against the Tigers. He snared a 19-yard catch against South Carolina. He turned in his best game of the season at Ole Miss with five catches for 63 yards and two extremely difficult touchdown receptions in heavy traffic. He teamed with freshman quarterback Casey Dick for a pair of second-half touchdown receptions coming from 23 yards in the third quarter and 24 yards in the fourth quarter. His efforts earned him Hogwired.com Offensive Player of the Week honors. He turned in another solid game against Mississippi State with four catches for 48 yards and a touchdown. He pulled in a 15-yard touchdown on a fade pattern just before the halftime intermission.  Against LSU, he earned a season-best 79 yards on three receptions. He netted a career-long 55-yard gain on a pass from Dick and also a key 13-yard gain on fourth down late in the game from UA tailback Darren McFadden. 

2004: He turned in a record breaking season as a true freshman for the Razorbacks. He tied for the team lead in receptions with senior Steven Harris (37). His 37 catches eclipsed the UA freshman record for catches. With two receptions against Mississippi State, he passed former Razorback and current Kansas City Chiefs' receiver Richard Smith (33 in 2000) for the UA record. He was second only to Harris in receiving yardage with 569 yards. He led all SEC freshmen with 3.36 receptions per game and 51.73 yards per contest. He ranked seventh among the nation's freshmen in receiving yards per game. He also ranked 11th overall in both categories among all league players. His six touchdown catches led all Razorbacks. Only South Carolina wide receiver Troy Williamson had more touchdown receptions (7) among SEC receivers. He earned at least one catch in each of the Razorbacks' 11 games including two or more catches in nine contests. He ranked second on the squad with eight catches of 20+ yards. He hauled in 30 catches in the last seven games. He earned 50+ yards receiving in six of the Razorbacks' last seven contests. He earned his first collegiate start at No. 4 Auburn and responded with five catches for 87 yards. He was named one of four national scholar-athletes of the year by the National Football Foundation. He was the Midwest Scholar-Athlete of the Year for his senior year of high school. He was honored on Dec. 7 in New York. -- In his first collegiate game, he snared a 38-yard touchdown reception from Matt Jones in the second quarter in a win over New Mexico State. Against No. 7 Texas, he hauled in three catches for 42 yards including a long of 18 yards. He posted the first multi-touchdown game of his career with two scores (21, 25) in a 49-20 win over Louisiana-Monroe. He totaled 46 yards on his two catches. He hauled in one catch for 23 yards and a first down in a 27-10 win over Alabama. He hauled in five receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown in a road loss at No. 16 Florida. His touchdown catch came on a seven-yard toss from Jones in the fourth quarter. He also snared a two-point conversion pass from Jones in a furious Razorback second-half comeback. He made his first collegiate start at split end against No. 4 Auburn. He hauled in five catches for a career-high 87 yards against the Tigers, including a 35-yard gain. He tallied four catches for 59 yards and a touchdown against No. 6 Georgia. He snared a 17-yard touchdown pass, among two defenders, in the first quarter against the Bulldogs. He set new career highs with seven receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown in a road loss at South Carolina. He snared a 13-yard touchdown pass from Jones in the fourth quarter against the Gamecocks. Five of his seven catches went for 13+ yards including a long of 25 yards. He made four catches for 59 yards, including another one-handed grab, in the Razorbacks' 35-3 win over Ole Miss. He earned 30 of his 59 yards on a strike from UA backup quarterback Robert Johnson. He broke the school record for receptions by a freshman in a season with two catches for 11 yards against Mississippi State. He earned his 33rd and 34th catches of the season, bypassing former Razorback and Kansas City Chiefs' wide receiver Richard Smith (33), for the UA mark. He broke the record on a three-yard pass from Jones in the fourth quarter of the Hogs' victory. He snared three passes for 57 yards, including a long gain of 26 yards, against LSU.

HIGH SCHOOL CAREER: An all-state selection in both football and basketball at East Poinsett County High School, he has played both sports at Arkansas. The valedictorian of his class, he was considered by some publications as the top basketball prospect in the state. He was named the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Athlete of the Year for his senior season. He tallied 72 receptions for 1,074 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior for Coach Mark Courtney. He hauled in 52 balls for 1,104 yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior. He also rushed for 110 yards on 10 carries and earned 400 yards on 15 kickoff returns. In his senior season on the hardwood, he averaged 20.8 points, 16.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 3.8 blocks and 2.5 steals and was named the Arkansas Democrat Gazette’s Mr. Basketball. He led his team to the Class AAA state championships and was named most valuable player of the tournament. As a junior in basketball, he averaged 25.8 points and 15.7 rebounds per game. He averaged a double-double per game in his sophomore season. He was part of a state basketball championship as a freshman and a senior. The Morning News had him ranked as the No. 5 football prospect in Arkansas. He was rated as the No. 68 wide receiver in the nation by Rivals.com. He was also ranked as the state’s No. 7 prospect by Rivals.com. SuperPrep had him as the No. 9 prospect in Arkansas and the No. 30 wide receiver in the Southeast Region. Insiders.com ranked him as the No. 97 wide receiver in the country. A member of the national honor society, the math and science clubs, and the student council, he graduated first in his class.

PERSONAL: Born April 26, 1986, he is the son of Dewayne Perry and Jackie Monk. He was named in December 2004 as one of four National Football Foundation Scholar-Athletes of the Year in recognition of his senior year at East Poinsett County HS. Monk is enrolled in the Sam M. Walton College of Business and is majoring in transportation. He was named to the 2006-07 SEC Academic Honor Roll. Monk was a member of the Lon Farrell Academic Honor Roll for the 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 academic years. He was also named a Hard Working Hog for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 academic years.