FAYETTEVILLE — For the first time since the spring, Arkansas football hit the practice fields in full pads on Day 6 of fall camp Tuesday morning.
Now that the Razorbacks are about a week into camp, injuries have started piling up. Three projected starters on offense were absent from Tuesday’s practice and another got dinged up during the media viewing period.
Two of those starters were on the offensive line — left guard Patrick Kutas and right tackle Keyshawn Blackstock — while the others were at skill positions: running back Ja’Quinden Jackson and wide receiver Andrew Armstrong.
It’s also worth noting that a couple of key defensive backups attended practice, but did not dress out and had to watch from the sideline. It was the fourth straight such practice for defensive end Anton Juncaj and the second straight for cornerback Marquise Robinson.
Two other players, cornerback Jaheim Singletary and wide receiver Tyrone Broden, were limited, as well. Neither of them participated in the team period or 1-on-1s, but they both went through individual drills.
The good news on the injury front is that none of those players are believed to be dealing with anything serious that will keep them out long-term, according to a UA spokesperson.
It’s unclear if Armstrong’s injury will force him to miss any practice time because he’s the one who got dinged up Tuesday. Juncaj and Robinson are at least able to walk around the field during practice, while Singletary and Broden were still able to dress out and do some things.
Because of that, we’ll focus on the three offensive starters who actually missed practice and take a look at how their absence could potentially impact the Razorbacks if their injuries turn out to be worse than what’s currently known…
LG Patrick Kutas
This was the fourth straight practice in which Kutas was not seen during the media viewing portion of practice. He’s battled some back problems in the past, so this is definitely an injury to watch moving forward.
It would also be a pretty tough injury for the Razorbacks because they don’t exactly have a ton of depth on the interior offensive line. In his absence, Arkansas has moved Amaury Wiggins up to the first unit and rotated him and Addison Nichols between center and left guard.
Perhaps most telling is the fact that Ty’Kieast Crawford has remained with the second unit while Kutas has been out. He has been talked about as a potential starter all four years he’s been at Arkansas, but it has yet to come to fruition. Heading into fall camp, the decision was made to move Crawford from tackle to guard with the hope that he’d push for a starting job, but that hasn’t happened yet.
RB Ja’Quinden Jackson
For the first time this fall, the media did not see running back Ja’Quinden Jackson during the viewing period. It’s unknown why he wasn’t out there.
However, if Jackson has to miss any time, it would be a significant loss for the Razorbacks. They feel good about Rashod Dubinion and the trio of newcomers behind him, but there’s a reason Jackson has taken the majority of first-team reps since the spring.
Jackson is a physical runner who can break tackles and also has really good speed. He has the potential to be a breakout performer as a transfer from Utah. Dubinion and the others could fill in for him, if needed, but Jackson’s ceiling is the highest of the bunch when it comes to the 2024 season.
Again, the good news is that it’s not believed to be a serious injury.
RT Keyshawn Blackstock
Another day, another apparent offensive line injury for Arkansas — this time it was right tackle Keyshawn Blackstock who was absent. He’s been penciled in as the starter at that spot since the start of spring and hasn’t done anything to lose it.
With him out, the Razorbacks moved another transfer up to first-team right tackle — Joe More. Although he spent last year at Syracuse, More began his career at the FCS level at Richmond. It was there that he was a standout right tackle and played more than 2,000 snaps, earning the opportunity to make the jump to the Power Five.
Injuries limited him to only 29 snaps with the Orange in 2023, but More has at least played a lot of football over the years, so if he’s thrust into a starting role, it’s not as bad of a situation for Arkansas as it might have been prior to his addition.
What it did, though, was force Ty’Kieast Crawford to move back to right tackle with the second unit. If he’s going to push for a starting job at guard, that is probably not ideal for his development inside, especially if Kutas’ injury evolves into something more severe or flares up again during the season.
Fall Camp Observations — Day 6
Here are a few other observations from the media’s viewing period of the sixth day of fall camp…
- In donning full pads for the first time in camp, the Hogs reached the end of the NCAA-mandated seven-day acclimatization period.
- Offensive line coach Eric Mateos has been fun to watch and listen to so far in fall camp, which is on brand for what he said about enjoying the equivalent of “breaking up with 500 women at once” on an annual basis. During one of the six periods open to reporters, the offensive tackles and tight ends worked on some combo blocking together and after one rep, Mateos was heard yelling, “Fire off the (expletive) ball! This ain’t high school.”
- During another period, the quarterbacks were throwing passes to tight ends in the middle of the field and offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino was making it a point to drill the quarterbacks into looking off the safety before making the throw.
- It’s listed reversed on the depth chart below, which is based on how they lined up during the team period witnessed by reporters, but during an inside run period, Addison Nichols was at center and Amaury Wiggins was at left guard. They have rotated at those spots in Patrick Kutas’ absence.
- Also during that inside run period, linebacker Xavian Sorey Jr. made a really nice play when he shot through a gap in the line and likely would have made a tackle for loss had it been live tackling. It earned some praise from Sam Pittman, who yelled at him that the play was “so damn good.”
- He was with the second unit, but Ty’Kieast Crawford helped open up a couple of holes by clearing out defensive tackle Keivie Rose during the inside run period. However, he also messed up on one rep and had to get some coaching from an assistant. Those kind of mental slip-ups could be what’s holding him back from pushing for a starting job.
- Freshman Kavion Henderson consistently got into the backfield during the inside run period. Granted, it was against the third-team offensive line, but he did what you’d hope someone as talented as him would do in such a situation.
- During the lone team period seen by the media, Coastal Carolina transfer Blake Boda got reps as the third-team quarterback. It’s the first time someone other than Taylen Green, Malachi Singleton or KJ Jackson got reps in that period.
- The defense worked on its mint front package, which features a linebacker walked down as essentially a defensive end – a position Arkansas calls the “jack.” Brad Spence and Nico Davillier got reps there with the first and second units, respectively, before the third unit was in a basic four-man front.
- In the secondary, Doneiko Slaughter – who’s been running as the first-team nickel – moved to safety with the first unit, which bumped Hudson Clark down to the second unit. That also allowed Anthony Switzer to be the first-team nickel for the first time in a team setting (during the media viewing portion), with Larry Worth III backing him up. It’s also worth noting that Tevis Metcalf got reps as a second-team cornerback after previously mostly working as the third-team nickel.
Arkansas Football Injury Report
Here’s a rundown of several Arkansas football players who are dealing with injuries…
- LG Patrick Kutas (undisclosed): Has missed the last four practices.
- RT Keyshawn Blackstock (undisclosed): Was not at Tuesday’s practice, but no details are known.
- DE Anton Juncaj (undisclosed): Has not dressed out, but watched the last four practices from the sideline.
- CB Marquise Robinson (undisclosed): Has not dressed out, but watched the last two practices from the sideline.
- WR Andrew Armstrong (undisclosed): Appeared to get dinged up during Tuesday’s practice, but it’s not believed to be anything serious, per a UA spokesperson.
- WR Tyrone Broden (undisclosed): Limited – participated in individual drills, but not the team or 1-on-1 period
- CB Jaheim Singletary (undisclosed): Limited – participated in individual drills, but not the team or 1-on-1 period
- LB JuJu Pope (hamstring): Pittman mentioned on before fall camp that Pope would be limited for the first week of camp because of a hamstring injury. He has not practiced yet this fall.
- 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, Pittman said he probably won’t play this season.
- OL Zuri Madison (ACL): Missed the spring and will miss the 2024 season with a torn ACL suffered in a scooter accident.
Arkansas Football Depth Chart
Here’s how the Razorbacks lined up during the “fastball starts” team period, which consisted of the first, second and third units running four 11-on-11 plays apiece…
Offense
| POS | First | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Taylen Green | Malachi Singleton | Blake Boda |
| RB | Rashod Dubinion | Braylen Russell | Rodney Hill |
| TE | Luke Hasz | Var’keyes Gumms | n/a |
| WR | Andrew Armstrong | Jaedon Wilson | Rykar Acebo |
| WR | Isaiah Sategna | Isaac TeSlaa | Dazmin James |
| WR | CJ Brown | Davion Dozier | Bryce Stephens Krosse Johnson |
| LT | Fernando Carmona | E’Marion Harris | Aaron Smith |
| LG | Addison Nichols | Brooks Edmonson | Luke Brown |
| C | Amaury Wiggins | Tim Dawn | Josh Street |
| RG | Joshua Braun | Kobe Branham | Tommy Varhall |
| RT | Joe More | Ty’Kieast Crawford | Jonas Nantze |
Defense
| POS | First | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| DE | Landon Jackson | Quincy Rhodes Jr. | Kavion Henderson |
| DT | Cam Ball | Keivie Rose | Kaleb James |
| DT | Eric Gregory | Ian Geffrard | Danny Saili |
| DE | n/a | n/a | Donovan Whitten |
| JACK | Brad Spence | Nico Davillier | n/a |
| LB | Stephen Dix Jr. | Alex Sanford | Wyatt Simmons |
| LB | Xavian Sorey Jr. | Bradley Shaw | Carson Dean |
| CB | Jaylon Braxton | Selman Bridges | Aidan McCowan |
| NB | Anthony Switzer | Larry Worth III | Doneiko Slaugher* TJ Metcalf* |
| S | Doneiko Slaughter | TJ Metcalf | Ahkhari Johnson |
| S | Jayden Johnson | Hudson Clark | Miguel Mitchell |
| CB | Kee’yon Stewart | Tevis Metcalf | Landon Phipps |
Post-Practice Interviews
Wide receivers coach Ronnie Fouch, as well as the wide receiver trio of Isaiah Sategna, Isaac TeSlaa and Jaedon Wilson, spoke to reporters after Tuesday’s practice.
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More coverage of Arkansas football and fall camp from BoAS…
