Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman provided an update Wednesday on the injury status of starting quarterback Taylen Green.
The Razorbacks' signal caller suffered a left leg injury in the fourth quarter of the 19-14 upset win over Tennessee on Saturday at Razorback Stadium that left him out for a majority of the final quarter of play. Pittman said they're hopeful to have Green ready for the Oct. 19 game against LSU.
"We're also hoping that he'll be ready by next week to practice," Pittman said Wednesday on The Chuck and Bo Show. "Those are still up in the air just a little bit. We feel confident that we can have him back, it's just we're not positive that will happen."
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Oct. 9 at 11:00 a.m. CT update...
Pittman went on the SEC Teleconference later in the morning and provided a more detailed update on Green's injury.
"Well, we don’t think it’s MCL now," Pittman said. "More of a bone bruise. Very, very sore on him. Hopefully he’ll be back by LSU. It’ll kind of be day-to-day right now, but our diagnosis was there was not any ligament damage."
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The injury occurred with 14:15 to play in the fourth quarter, when Tennessee defensive lineman Omarr Norman-Lott shed left guard E'Marion Harris and dove straight into the legs of Green, who was replaced right away by backup Malachi Singleton.
Singleton finished that drive out while Green went into the injury tent and did anything he could to get back on the field. Green trotted out with the offense to begin the next offensive possession at the 10:49 mark in the fourth quarter, but he was forced out of the pocket on his first play and was visibly uncomfortable and limping.
"Obviously it wasn't as bad for us not to ask him how he felt," Pittman said postgame. "Our diagnosis for him was he could get back in the game if he wanted, he could, but he got tackled again and then we just said, 'Okay, that's enough, let's put Malachi in.'"
After that, Green was done for the evening for good. He told his teammates good luck and that worked out, as Singleton scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:17 to play on an 11-yard run. After the defense did its job, the players rushed the field, accompanied by fans, and even Green was able to celebrate for a little bit after he threw for 266 yards while completing over 70% of his passes.
On the season, Green has completed 56.5% of his passes for 1,502 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions. He also ranks eighth in the SEC with 81 rushes for 326 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
"We certainly need (Green)," Pittman said Monday. "Malachi did a wonderful job. But Taylen is our No. 1 quarterback for a reason. Malachi certainly earned his respect that he got leading that last drive down there to score. That was big-time. We're very fortunate that we have two good quarterbacks, but we obviously need Taylen back healthy."
Singleton has played in reserve action on three occasions this season, as he threw for 120 yards and also ran for a touchdown in the season-opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He also entered the game for one drive in the Sept. 21 win at Auburn while Green was dealing with cramps.
A former four-star prospect out of North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Georgia, Singleton is a 6-foot-1, 225-pound redshirt freshman. He was named SEC Freshman of the Week for his late-game heroics in the win over the Volunteers on Saturday.
