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FAYETTEVILLE -- The Hogs might be in store for another four-headed monster in the backfield this season.
The talk around Arkansas spring practice has been how great freshman running back Rashod Dubinion looks. The 5.8 four-star early enrollee from Ellenwood, Ga., has caught the eye of most, including head coach Sam Pittman.
“I’ve been impressed with Dubinion,” Pittman said last week. “I think he’s a good football player and I think he can turn into an excellent football player.”
Junior back Dominique Johnson had offseason surgery, causing him to miss all of spring practice. His absence has led to an increase in touches for Dubinion, who has taken full advantage of the opportunity.
Pittman said that Dubinion was a standout in last Saturday’s scrimmage, seemingly living up to the hype surrounding him coming out out of Cedar Grove High School.
Dubinion recorded 1,565 yards and 22 touchdowns on 180 carries in his senior season. He also caught 10 passes for 149 yards and a score out of the backfield. His speed was put on display on a trio of kickoff returns, one of which he took to the house.
The production from high school has carried over to his new home in Fayetteville. Pittman said he is now seeing what he saw while recruiting Dubinion.
“It’s just what you saw on high school tape,” Pittman said Tuesday. “He can make you miss and he did that a couple two or three times today at practice."
During spring ball, Dubinion has seen most of his reps with the second-team offense. Sophomores Rocket Sanders and AJ Green are taking the bulk of first-team carries, but Arkansas proved last year that a guy will get touches if he earns them in practice.
Last season, Pittman singled out Johnson in nearly every media availability, saying Johnson needed more touches during games. Throughout the spring, he has been doing the same with Dubinion.
"I think it is his style,” Pittman said. “He can cut on a dime, now. He’s just hard to tackle. He’s very, very tough and he’s slippery, slithery, I don’t know the word, but when he makes a cut now, he makes a cut and it’s hard to touch him, let alone tackle him when he does that.”
Sanders and Johnson took the bulk of Arkansas’ carries in the second half of last season. With no Johnson this spring, Green and Dubinion have had the opportunity to step up and show off their abilities.
“We need to get (Johnson) back,” Pittman said. “But I think you’re looking at four guys now with the emergence of Dubinion. When Dominique gets back we’ll have to figure out how to get those carries, because I thought Dominique was pretty special (last year), as well as Rocket."
Competition can be a great thing for a backfield, and the Hogs proved last year that it can benefit each guy. A four-headed monster is rare, but Arkansas might just have one two seasons in a row if everyone can stay healthy.
For Dubinion, it is likely all about learning from the veterans and playing under his former high school coach, and current Arkansas running backs coach, Jimmy Smith.
Smith knew what Arkansas was getting with Dubinion, and former Cedar Grove head coach Miguel Patrick laid it out in an interview with HawgBeat last February.
“The biggest thing they're getting is a kid who's going to work extremely hard for them and he's going to represent them in the right way,” Patrick said. “He knows how to carry himself on and off the field, he's just an incredible kid.”