College Students, get a year of HawgBeat coverage for just $11.95. Request details via email from your school account (.edu) to nchavanelle@yahoo.com.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe for free for 30 days w/code HAWGS30
NEW USERS | RETURNING USERS
FAYETTEVILLE — It appears Arkansas might get both of its top offensive weapons back Saturday.
Speaking to the media Thursday afternoon, head coach Sam Pittman sounded as optimistic about running back Rakeem Boyd and wide receiver Treylon Burks as he has since they left the Mississippi State game with injuries earlier this month.
Boyd, the Razorbacks’ lone preseason All-SEC selection, has been dealing with a lower leg injury, but Thursday morning, he posted on Twitter, “I’m back!” When asked about his star running back’s tweet, Pittman joked that he needed to get on there and follow him before seemingly confirming he’d be available.
“We’ll be extremely happy if he’s able to play,” Pittman said. “Obviously, he’s a really fine running back and we’d love to have him out there playing. I think we did the right thing with him last week by not playing him. I don’t know how effective he would have been if we’d been able to play him. But I’m glad he’s ready to go.”
Burks, who had a 102-yard performance in the opener against Georgia, is dealing with a knee injury. His prognosis for Saturday’s game against Ole Miss is also encouraging, while that of cornerback Montaric Brown - who also got hurt against Mississippi State - is still up in the air.
“Treylon has practiced all week, so I’m expecting him to play,” Pittman said. “Montaric has practiced all week as well, so we’re hoping he gets cleared for the game - that one, I’m not positive about.”
Pittman did not provide any updates on safety Myles Slusher, cornerback Jerry Jacobs, defensive end Dorian Gerald, right tackle Noah Gatlin or linebackers Bumper Pool and Grant Morgan. Each of those players have been banged up, with all but Pool and Morgan missing either entire games or large chunks of action.
However, the first-year coach did say he thinks tight end Hudson Henry will be available after traveling to, but not playing in last week’s game at Auburn because of an undisclosed injury.
The Razorbacks will also be without backup linebacker Levi Draper for an extended period of time.
A graduate transfer from Oklahoma, he tweeted after the Auburn game that he “would do anything to be healthy.” A few days later, his mother, Rustin Draper, shared on Twitter that he had successful surgery.
Pittman confirmed Thursday that it was to repair a shoulder injury - one that he indicated had given him problems before. He didn’t give an exact timeframe for his return, but said he’ll be out “quite a while.”
“I hate it for him because he worked awful hard and he was doing a good job for us,” Pittman said. “We knew it was serious, but we didn’t know if it needed surgery until about a day or two before we decided he probably needs to go ahead and get it done.”
Kickoff against Ole Miss is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on the SEC Network.
