FAYETTEVILLE — Since his breakout performance against Mississippi State, Braylen Russell has essentially disappeared from Arkansas’ offense.
The reason is simple: Even though he’s technically been available each of the last two games, the freshman running back hasn’t been fully healthy.
It’s unclear exactly what Russell is dealing with, but he did come up limping with an apparent hamstring injury after a long run that ended his 175-yard outing against the Bulldogs on Oct. 26.
There is optimism that he could be back in the mix for this week’s game against Louisiana Tech, but it will likely boil down to how much he’s able to do in practice leading up to the 3 p.m. CT kickoff Saturday at Razorback Stadium.
“I think that’s the whole thing with Braylen,” Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman told reporters Monday. “He really didn’t get completely (where) everything will be okay with him until Friday. Missed a lot of full-speed reps and with having (Ja’Quinden Jackson) back and all that, it would affect his reps some, anyway. If he’s healthy, we’ll certainly use him. He’s a good player.”
The week after Russell put up more rushing yards than any Arkansas freshman not named Darren McFadden, he got only three carries for three yards and played just eight snaps against Ole Miss.
After that game, Pittman acknowledged he wasn’t healthy, but said he’d be fine. Even after a bye week, though, Russell wasn’t full-go.
He was listed as “questionable” on the initial SEC availability report last Wednesday before being elevated to “probable” on Thursday and wasn’t even included on the list when it was updated 1.5 hours before the Texas game.
While he may have been available in a pinch, Russell was clearly still not 100%, as evidenced by him getting some individual work on the field while the specialists were going through their pregame warmups — just as he had two weeks earlier.
The return of Ja’Quinden Jackson likely lessened the need to rush him back too quickly, plus the Razorbacks may not have run the ball as much as they should anyways, which also would have reduced the available opportunities.
With Russell sidelined, Jackson (31 snaps) and Rashod Dubinion (26) split the reps nearly 50/50, with Rodney Hill also playing three snaps without any carries. The running backs did manage 86 yards on 18 carries, which is a solid 4.8 yards per carry, especially against the Longhorns’ stingy defense.
That said, adding a 253-pound bruiser back into the rotation would certainly be a welcome sight for an Arkansas football team not only hoping to end the 2024 season on a high note, but also build for the future.
(READ NEXT: Check out our in-depth analytical preview of Arkansas vs La Tech, which features another “revenge game”)
Other Sam Pittman Presser Tidbits
Here are a few other quotes, not verbatim, from Sam Pittman’s weekly press conference looking back at the Texas loss and previewing the Arkansas vs La Tech game…
- On Louisiana Tech’s defense: We’re catching them when they’re playing their best football. They deliver some problems with the structure of their defense. They’re a 3-3-5, but it’s different.
- On Louisiana Tech’s offense: They’re running the ball better. Not throwing it as much as earlier in the year, but their line is playing well. A lot of speed at wide out.
- On what they’re telling the team: The big thing is this game is more about us and how we play. We have to play hard. We have to challenge ourselves. We have to get better. Our consistency has to be there.
- On the new-look secondary: Larry Worth played a really, really good game. He was very physical. (Miguel) Mitchell played well, beside the mistake on the bubble-and-go. His eyes were in the wrong place there. I really liked (Kee’yon) Stewart and (Hudson) Clark probably played as good as he’s played in a while. The changes we looked at helped us.
- On the importance of reaching bowl eligibility: It means something to the team. That’d be four out of five. It’d be a lot better than not (making one). I think our kids still enjoy going to the postseason.
- On the seniors: Each one of them are different, but very grateful for the guys who came back and were loyal to the program. They’ve done extremely well. The guys that came back are playing for us and the guys we brought in are, for the most part, playing for us.
- On whether or not any of the players honored on senior day could return: Josh Braun will walk on senior day. We’d love to have him back, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot. He could come back. Most of the others who walk won’t come back.
- On talks with Taylen Green about 2025: Monday after the Missouri game, there are six guys I’m going to talk to myself. They’re juniors. I’ll talk to them about their draft status and try to figure out how we can get them to come back.
- On how Group of Five teams approach these kinds of games: They all have a chip on their shoulder. Most of them, Arkansas didn’t offer a scholarship to. That was always a big deal at Cincinnati, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan. That’s a driving, emotional factor, getting to go in and play the big dogs.
- On facing former Arkansas player Zach Zimos: When he hit you, you got stuck. Certainly playing a different position than we had him here. But I like Zach, I always have. I’m happy for him. I think he’s one of the leaders over there. He’s played a lot of ball. I’m just really happy for him and he’s doing a good job. He’ll hit you, now, so we’ll have to figure that out.
Watch the full Arkansas football press conference here:
Arkansas Football Injury Report
Here’s the latest on several Arkansas football players who are dealing with injuries ahead of the Arkansas vs La Tech game…
(NOTE: Because this is a non-conference game, Arkansas will not submit an availability report this week.)
- CB Jaylon Braxton (leg): Pittman ruled out the possibility of him playing this week and said he was hopeful he’d be available in a potential bowl game, but admitted that “it’s just not getting better”… Now guaranteed to redshirt this season
- DE Anton Juncaj (knee): Unlikely to play this week, but Pittman is hopeful he’ll be able to return for the Missouri game
- RB Braylen Russell (undisclosed): As laid out above, his status is still up in the air and likely dependent on how much he’s able to practice
- CB Selman Bridges (illness): Was unavailable to play in the Texas game because of an illness, but he’s expected to return to practice Monday
- LB Anthony Switzer (undisclosed): Was unavailable to play in the Texas game because of an undisclosed injury, but he’s expected to return to practice Monday
- K Kyle Ramsey (groin): Injured his groin in the Tennessee game and Pittman described it as a “significant” injury, so he’ll miss some time
- DB Jaden Allen (knee): Pittman said the freshman had “cartilage repair” done on his knee and that he’s not expected to play this season.
- LB Justin Logan (shoulder): After being limited and wearing a green non-contact jersey during the spring, Pittman said he probably won’t play this season… However, he was dressed out and went through pregame warmups before the Texas game.
- OL Zuri Madison (ACL): Missed the spring and will miss the 2024 season with a torn ACL suffered in a scooter accident.
Arkansas vs La Tech Depth Chart
Here is the official depth chart for the Arkansas vs La Tech game, from the UA’s game notes…
Offense
| POS | First | Second | More |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Taylen Green | Malachi Singleton | KJ Jackson Blake Boda |
| RB | Ja’Quinden Jackson | Rashod Dubinion | Rodney Hill Braylen Russell Tyrell Reed |
| TE | Luke Hasz | Andreas Paaske | |
| WR-Z | Tyrone Broden | Jordan Anthony -OR- CJ Brown | Davion Dozier |
| WR-X | Andrew Armstrong | Monte Harrison | |
| WR-W | Isaiah Sategna | Isaac TeSlaa | |
| LT | Fernando Carmona Jr. | E’Marion Harris | |
| LG | Keyshawn Blackstock -OR- Patrick Kutas | Brooks Edmonson | |
| C | Addison Nichols | Amaury Wiggins | |
| RG | Joshua Braun | Ty’Kieast Crawford | |
| RT | E’Marion Harris | Joe More |
Changes from last week:
- The only change on offense is at running back, where Dubinion is now listed as the backup. He has actually started the last two games and essentially split reps with Jackson against Texas.
Defense
| POS | First | Second | More |
|---|---|---|---|
| DE | Landon Jackson | Quincy Rhodes Jr. | |
| DT | Cam Ball | Keivie Rose | Danny Saili |
| DT | Eric Gregory | Ian Geffrard | |
| DE | Nico Davillier -OR- Anton Juncaj | ||
| LB | Brad Spence -OR- Stephen Dix Jr. | Alex Sanford | |
| LB | Xavian Sorey Jr. | Anthony Switzer -OR- Bradley Shaw | |
| NB | Doneiko Slaughter | Tevis Metcalf | |
| CB | Kee’yon Stewart | Marquise Robinson | |
| S | TJ Metcalf -OR- Miguel Mitchell | Ahkhari Johnson | |
| S | Jayden Johnson -OR- Larry Worth III | Larry Worth III | |
| CB | Hudson Clark | Jaheim Singletary | Selman Bridges |
Changes from last week:
- The only changes on defense are in the secondary, which was completely reshuffled last week at Texas.
- At cornerback, Stewart and Clark replaced Robinson and Singletary as the starters and it sounds like they’re going to retain their starting jobs this week.
- Mitchell and Worth both moved into the starting lineup, while Johnson started as the third safety in the dime defense and Metcalf came off the bench. They are all listed as co-starters with an “or” between them.
Special Teams
| POS | First | Second |
|---|---|---|
| K | Matthew Shipley | Charlie Von Der Meden |
| P | Devin Bale | Sam Dubwig |
| KO | Devin Bale | |
| LS | Ashton Ngo | Max Schmidly |
| H | Devin Bale | Sam Dubwig |
| KR | Isaiah Sategna | Jordan Anthony |
| PR | Isaiah Sategna | Bryce Stephens |
Changes from last week:
- There are once again no changes to the special teams depth chart, but it’s worth noting that Anthony has taken over the kickoff return duties, despite being listed as a backup to Sategna.
How to Watch Arkansas vs La Tech
Date: Saturday, Nov. 23
Location: Razorback Stadium (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Kickoff time (TV): 3 p.m. CT (SECN+/ESPN+)
Commentators: Matt Schumacker (play-by-play), Dustin Fox (analyst)
ESPN FPI: Arkansas has a 93.8% chance to win.
Odds/Betting Line: Arkansas, -23 | O/U 50 (BetSaracen)
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