Just over two weeks ago, Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman didn't sound optimistic when asked if junior running back Raheim "Rocket" Sanders would be able to suit up again this season.
Sanders has been nursing a knee injury that he suffered in Week 1 against Western Carolina and he hasn't seen the field since Oct. 7 at Ole Miss. The preseason First Team All-SEC tailback returned from injury for the Texas A&M game the week prior that Ole Miss game, but he missed the last two against Alabama and Mississippi State.
After taking time to rehab the knee in Dallas, Sanders returned to Fayetteville and he practiced in limited fashion on Monday and Tuesday. Pittman said that it will probably take another couple of days of consistency for Sanders to be able to play Saturday at Florida.
"Flashes that I’ve seen, I feel really good about him being able to play, but just another couple of days of consistency," Pittman said. "Today is a big third down day for us. How is he going to protect and things of that nature. Just the whole week, of what the whole Monday through Thursday encompasses, but the first two days I feel confident that he will be able to go out there and help us."
The 6-foot-2, 242-pound native of Florida has rushed just 34 times for 91 yards and two scores this season. Despite the lack of production and the injury, Pittman said it's up to Sanders to see how his body reacts to determine if he should be on a snap count in the potential event he does play.
"I think usually in younger kids you’re probably protecting them a little bit more," Pittman said. "Rocket, he knows his own body, and I think we’ll just listen to him if gets to that point. We’ll let him be the guy that decides whether he needs a break or not."
It is worth noting that the last time Sanders carried a ball for the Hogs, former offensive coordinator Dan Enos was calling the plays. With new interim offensive coordinator Kenny Guiton calling plays, the hope is that the running backs will be able to improve from their current ranking of 112th nationally in rush yards (109.0) per game.
"We haven’t really changed anything other than we’ve cut down and tried to figure out what we can do well and we’re going to try to do that," Pittman said. "So there’s been positives about that. Had a really good team run period yesterday on offense. I’m attributing it to we’re running less plays and hoping we can run them better."
Arkansas and Florida are set for an 11 a.m. CT kickoff at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida, on Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
