FAYETTEVILLE -- College football came easily for Jarius Wright -- at least until the season started.

While Arkansas' other freshman receivers needed time to get settled into their dorm rooms and adjusted to the pace of practice, Wright made a good first impression with the coaches.

He found ways of getting open, made big catches downfield and used Arkansas' fall camp to convince coach Bobby Petrino that he was worthy of starting the season opener against Western Illinois.

Petrino couldn't seem to compliment Wright enough. But the Warren native had difficulty living up to the initial hype, and he quickly got lost in the shuffle.

"It was a little frustrating at first, but me being a freshman, I kind of had to fight through that," Wright said. "I just go out there, run every route hard. If I get the ball, fine. If I don't, fine."

Wright finally had the breakout performance that Petrino had been expecting when the freshman caught five passes for a career-high 112 yards in last Saturday's 30-23 win over then-No. 19 Tulsa in Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

He stretched out to catch a 34-yard pass that gave Arkansas a first down on its opening drive. He made another impressive 34-yard grab in the third quarter when he snatched a pass and immediately turned upfield.

"We've been waiting for it. We knew he was very capable of having a breakout game like that," Petrino said. "He practiced real, real hard and well all week long. I think he was ready to make the plays when he did."

In Petrino's pass-happy offense, it's not uncommon for a different receiver to have a big performance each week.

While tight end D.J. Williams has proven to be quarterback Casey Dick's favorite target, freshman receivers Joe Adams, Greg Childs and Chris Gragg have each made catches at critical times in games.

It was finally Wright's turn against Tulsa.

"When it was his time to get the ball, I mean, he did what he could in this game," Adams said. "When he got the ball, it was hard for them to catch him. He's a little fast."

With the Golden Hurricane determined to slow down the Razorbacks' running game, Dick was forced to throw 35 times for a career-high 385 yards.

Wright emerged as the No. 2 option behind Williams, catching three passes for 60 yards in the first half. In contrast, the freshman had only seven catches for 67 yards through the first eight games of the season.

"It was big for me as a person, knowing that I'm able to help the team and knowing I've been kind of waiting for the breakout game," Wright said. "And really, you couldn't ask for any better passes than Casey threw."

Wright's performance seemed long overdue, especially since Arkansas' coaches raved about the 5-foot-10 freshman on an almost daily basis during two-a-day practices.

Despite being the shortest of Arkansas' freshman receivers -- and not the most highly touted one coming out of high school -- Wright stood out during the preseason.

But Wright had trouble taking his success on the practice field and turning it into production once the season began. He needed to improve his route-running and adjust to the speed of playing in the Southeastern Conference.

"He had a fantastic two-a-day camp. He was always getting open, making big plays for us whenever we threw the ball," Dick said. "We've been trying to find ways to get him the ball all the way throughout the season."

Hoping to inspire Wright last week, Arkansas offensive coordinator Paul Petrino challenged the soft-spoken freshman to become the player he was in high school.

"I was walking off the field with him and I said, 'Jarius, probably ever since you were a little kid every time you stepped on a field -- whether it was football, basketball, track, baseball -- didn't you think you could win the game all by yourself? He's like, 'Yes, sir.'

"So I said, 'Why don't you act that way now?'"

Wright finally did.