Arkansas tight end Jaden Platt lands spot on Earl Campbell award list

Arkansas tight end Jaden Platt earned a spot on the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award watch list, the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce and SPORTyler revealed Tuesday morning.

The senior joins a group of players competing for the nation’s top honor for an offensive standout.

The award goes each year to the offensive player who best shows the traits tied to Earl Campbell’s career.

Those traits include integrity, performance, teamwork, sportsmanship, drive, community involvement and tenacity. Nominees must also have been born in Texas or have played high school, junior college or college ball somewhere in the state.

Platt checks that box with ease. He’s a Haslet, Texas native who played his high school ball at Eaton High School in Fort Worth.

That Texas connection made him a natural fit for the watch list.

The Razorbacks tight end isn’t new to this kind of recognition. Platt’s preseason nod marks his fourth watch list appearance this year.

He’s already been named to the John Mackey Award, Allstate Wuerffel Trophy and AllState AFCA Good Works Team watch lists.

Platt’s on-field production backs up the attention. He started 11 games and played in all 12 last season, hauling in 21 catches for 296 yards and two scores.

Arkansas fans got a good look at what he can do down the stretch of the year.

His best single game came on the road against Texas on Nov. 22, when he caught four passes for 66 yards.

That total included an eight-yard touchdown grab from quarterback KJ Jackson in the fourth quarter, closing out the Hogs’ final road trip of the regular season.

Platt also turned in three catches for 53 yards earlier in the year during a loss at Ole Miss on Sept. 13.

What comes next for the award

The watch list released Tuesday will shrink over the coming months.

Organizers plan to trim the field to as many as 16 semifinalists in November, then narrow it further to five finalists in December.

Broadcasters, commentators, journalists, fans and former winners all take part in picking those groups.

A winner gets announced in December, with the honor handed out at the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Banquet. That event is set for Jan. 27, 2027, in Tyler, Texas.

Arkansas will need Platt ready to roll early. The Razorbacks open their season at Razorback Stadium against North Alabama on Sept. 5 at 3:15 p.m. on SEC Network.

Season and single-game tickets remain available for fans who want to catch Platt and the rest of the Hogs in person this fall.

For a program that’s leaned on tight end production in recent years, Platt’s steady climb through these watch lists gives Arkansas another name worth tracking as the season nears.

Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.

Key takeaways

• Jaden Platt made the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award watch list, his fourth preseason honor
• The Arkansas tight end caught 21 passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns in 2025
• The Razorbacks open the season Sept. 5 against North Alabama at Razorback Stadium