Backup QB tears ACL, what it means for Arkansas
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas quarterback Kade Renfro has suffered a torn ACL, head coach Sam Pittman announced Monday.
It was a non-contact injury that happened near the end of a live scrimmage for younger players on Friday.
“I hated it for him,” Pittman said. “Just planted and (it) gave way on him, so I'm very sad for him, the whole team is. It's a part of the game you wish we could get rid of, but it certainly happened."
Pittman did not reveal an exact timeline for Renfro’s recovery, saying just that he’d “be out for a while,” but the typical recovery for a torn ACL is 9-12 months. Because of the timing of the injury, he’ll miss spring ball and likely fall camp, as well, with the nine-month mark coming a few weeks into the season.
Although he’s yet to play a snap for the Razorbacks and actually joined the program as a walk-on from Ole Miss, where he was on scholarship, it is a significant development from a roster standpoint.
Arkansas did not sign a quarterback during the early signing period and a major reason why, Pittman said, is because the staff felt good about its depth behind starter KJ Jefferson and they believed it would help them land a high-profile quarterback in 2023.
Renfro was one of three backup quarterbacks Pittman specifically mentioned last week, along with current redshirt freshman Malik Hornsby and true freshman Lucas Coley. John Stephen Jones has remaining eligibility, but was honored on Senior Day and was not named by Pittman.
Pittman had said he didn’t have any intention of looking for quarterbacks in the transfer portal or high school ranks to sign in the traditional signing period, but that could potentially change with the injury to Renfro.
“I think it certainly makes you look,” Pittman said. “I think if you ended up doing that, you’d certainly need to sit down and talk to Malik and KJ about it before you ever would do it. I just don’t know.”
A major factor in that decision could be the development of Coley, who “threw the ball well” in Friday’s scrimmage, Pittman said. With Renfro injured and if Jones leaves, the freshman from San Antonio would be third on the depth chart next season.
“Coley’s getting a lot of reps right now, as well,” Pittman said. “So I think you’d have to wait a little bit over the next week and a half to find that out, whether you felt comfortable there or not and he’s getting a lot better, so we’ll just wait and see on that.”
Another option for the Razorbacks is to move Landon Rogers back to quarterback, where he was recruited before switching to tight end during fall camp.
That would help Arkansas from a numbers perspective, as a quarterback transfer or signee would take up one of its precious remaining spots for the 2022 class, but Pittman doesn’t want it to impact his development at other positions.
In addition to practicing with the tight ends, where he could potentially get some playing time in the Outback Bowl, Rogers could also play wide receiver and defensive coordinator Barry Odom has even tried getting him on the other side of the ball.
“We don't want to slow down his potential there, but at the same time, he's got a lot of arm and we certainly have that in the back of our mind that we could move him back to quarterback for spring,” Pittman said. “But again, that would only be if we thought he could be a two or a three. Otherwise we'd feel like he can be a two or better as a tight end or wide receiver.”
