3rd Factor at Play in Looming Battle on OL + Injury Report, Depth Chart vs Mississippi State

Keyshawn Blackstock, Arkansas football, Arkansas vs Mississippi State
photo credit: Craven Whitlow

FAYETTEVILLE — Just past the midway point of the 2024 season, Arkansas football has a position battle on its hands.

The Razorbacks shuffled their offensive line ahead of the LSU game and are now opening up the left guard position in practice leading up to Saturday’s game at Mississippi State.

It will come down to whether or not Keyshawn Blackstock, the Michigan State transfer who started the first six games at right tackle before moving to left guard during the open date, can hold off a now-healthy Patrick Kutas, who was the projected starter before hurting his back early in fall camp.

“With Blackstock moving on the inside, there was a little bit of transition there that I think he’ll be better this week and we’ll let him and Kutas kind of fight that out a little bit,” Pittman said.

Regardless of who wins the starting job this week, the return of Kutas is a big development for an offensive line that has seen its starters play virtually every meaningful snap this season.

Depth has been a concern up front and now it seems as though the Razorbacks have some. In fact, Kutas took the second-team left guard reps during pregame warmups Saturday and was available to play in a pinch.

“He had two weeks of practice before this game, before LSU,” Pittman said. “So it’s almost like he’s had, not necessarily the same type of practice that you would have for two-a-days, for camp, but he had two full (weeks of) practices there, to the point we thought that he would be ready Saturday and we told him that. If needed, we were going to play him.”

The injury, which he suffered on the second day of fall camp, sidelined Kutas for about 2.5 months. He finally started working his way back during the open date and now Pittman says he believes he’ll be “fully healthy and ready to go” this weekend.

There is a third factor at play, though, when it comes to his actual return to the field.

A true junior, the Memphis native is still eligible to redshirt. He can appear in up to four regular-season games and maintain the year of eligibility and the Razorbacks have five games left. That means he needs to sit out one more game to ensure he redshirts — which Pittman said is the goal.

That wrinkle means the position battle between Blackstock and Kutas may not be a straight-up “who’s better” decision. Kutas would need to prove it’s worth burning his redshirt to overtake Blackstock this week — unless they are planning on holding him out of the Louisiana Tech game or something along those lines.

Arkansas having the luxury of two possibilities at left guard is only possible because of the emergence of E’Marion Harris. The redshirt sophomore won the starting job at that spot after Kutas went down during fall camp and started there the first half of the season, but moved out to right tackle last week.

Listed at 6-foot-7, 300 pounds, Harris’ frame is probably better suited at tackle and, despite earning an abysmal 37.8 grade from Pro Football Focus, Pittman liked what he saw from him on film.

“I thought the move with Harris was something that is going to help us,” Pittman said. “I thought he did a good job. What he is, is athletic enough that if he gets out of position, he can run him around the pocket.”

That’s a stark contrast to last year’s midseason shuffle that saw Beaux Limmer move to left guard, Kutas move to center and Brady Latham move to right tackle in Week 6, only to revert back to center, right tackle and left guard, respectively, at halftime.

Pittman remembered not liking that combination from the jump against Ole Miss, despite the offense scoring on its opening drive. Saturday’s changes for the LSU game sound like they’re permanent.

“I didn’t feel that way during this game,” Pittman said. “I felt like what we had done was the right move going forward.”

Other Sam Pittman Presser Tidbits

Here are a few other quotes, not verbatim, from Sam Pittman’s weekly press conference looking back at the LSU loss and previewing the Arkansas vs Mississippi State game…

  • On Mississippi State: Playing really well. Coach Lebby’s done a great job. They’re in every game and playing extremely hard. Have a lot of speed, a lot of talent on their team. The QB is playing well. I like their running backs. Coach Kennedy has their OL playing much better. Coleman is an exceptional player. Defensively, I like their LB group. They really run to the ball. Do a lot of things defensively to confuse you on third down. We know the cowbells will be rolling. Have a lot of respect for their football team.
  • More on Mississippi State’s offense: They’re wide open. They have a mixture of playing fast. If you press them, they’re going to throw deep. They’re connecting on those plays. They have speed at wide out. Van Buren can throw the deep ball. They’re also running the stretch and inside zone very, very well. The quarterback can make plays with his feet. They don’t want to run him a bunch because he slides every time. He’s elusive in the pocket. They’re playing with a great deal of energy. You can see it on the film.
  • On the health of Ja’Quinden Jackson: Ja’Quinden has been beat up basically in SEC play. He’s been beat up a little bit. Early in the year he was exceptional when he was healthy. His health status is probably very questionable for Saturday.
  • On the improved play of Taylen Green: His confidence is growing in the offense. I think he’s becoming more comfortable and we’re protecting him a little better. He also has more confidence in where his receivers will be.
  • On Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren: He is very, very poised back there. He made a throw to his left that he knew he was going to get wiped out and it was on the money. Might have been against Georgia. He’s a real good player and very accurate with his throws. We’re going to have to move him. I’m sure they’re pleased with him.
  • On the improvement of Mississippi State’s defense: Ever since the Toledo game, I think they’ve gotten better and better. They had some breakdowns and you don’t see that happening now. They fly to the ball. They’ve also changed how they’re trying to get to the quarterback, changed how many guys are in the box. They’re taking more chances on third down and second-and-long, trying to get to the quarterback.
  • On the importance of this game: They’re all important. To go get another road win would be big for us. Getting to 3-2 in the conference would be big. We certainly want that. This road game is big for us and we usually play good on the road.

Watch the full Arkansas football press conference here:

YouTube video

Arkansas Football Injury Report

Here’s the latest on several Arkansas football players who are dealing with injuries ahead of the Arkansas vs Mississippi State game…

  • CB Jaylon Braxton (leg): Last played against Oklahoma State in Week 2… Has been out with what was previously described as “tendinitis,” but Pittman said Monday that it’s a leg injury “and I’ll just leave it at that”… Pittman said the earliest he could return is after the second open date, at which point there would be three games remaining… Appeared in only two games, so a redshirt is still on the table
  • RB Ja’Quinden Jackson (ankle): Pittman said he’s “very questionable” for the Mississippi State game… He added that Jackson has been “beat up” since the start of SEC play and has been playing through an ankle injury, which he appeared to tweak again during the LSU loss and had to be helped off the field by trainers
  • RB Rodney Hill (MCL): Has missed the last two games with what Pittman described as an MCL injury… There had been some optimism he’d be back last week, but that didn’t happen
  • 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.
  • OL Zuri Madison (ACL): Missed the spring and will miss the 2024 season with a torn ACL suffered in a scooter accident.

Arkansas vs Mississippi State Depth Chart

Here is the official depth chart for the Arkansas vs Mississippi State game, from the UA’s game notes…

Offense

POSFirstSecondMore
QBTaylen GreenMalachi SingletonKJ Jackson
Blake Boda
RBJa’Quinden JacksonRodney HillBraylen Russell
Rashod Dubinion
Tyrell Reed
TELuke HaszTy WashingtonVar’keyes Gumms
Andreas Paaske
WR-ZTyrone BrodenJordan Anthony -OR-
CJ Brown
Davion Dozier
WR-XAndrew ArmstrongMonte Harrison
WR-WIsaiah SategnaIsaac TeSlaaKhafre Brown
LTFernando Carmona Jr.E’Marion Harris
LGKeyshawn BlackstockPatrick KutasBrooks Edmonson
CAddison NicholsAmaury Wiggins
RGJoshua BraunTy’Kieast Crawford
RTE’Marion HarrisJoe More

Changes from last week:

  • The only change on the depth chart is on the offensive line. Most notably, Blackstock and Harris flipped spots, which reflects how they lined up against LSU.
  • It’s also notable that Kutas is now listed as the second-team left guard. He took those reps during pregame, but never played against LSU. He had previously been left off the depth chart as he dealt with a back injury.

Defense

POSFirstSecondMore
DELandon JacksonQuincy Rhodes Jr.
DTCam BallKeivie RoseDanny Saili
DTEric GregoryIan Geffrard
DENico Davillier -OR-
Anton Juncaj
LBBrad Spence -OR-
Stephen Dix Jr.
Alex Sanford
LBXavian Sorey Jr.Anthony Switzer -OR-
Bradley Shaw
NBDoneiko SlaughterTevis Metcalf
CBMarquise Robinson -OR-
Jaheim Singletary -OR-
Kee’yon Stewart
STJ MetcalfHudson ClarkAhkhari Johnson
SJayden JohnsonLarry Worth III
CBJaheim Singletary -OR-
Kee’yon Stewart
Hudson ClarkSelman Bridges

Changes from last week:

  • The only change on the defensive depth chart is Jaylon Braxton finally being removed after missing the last five games with an injury. He has been replaced by an “or” between Singletary and Stewart, who are also part of a three-way “or” at the other cornerback spot.
  • It’s worth noting that Robinson and Singletary have been the starters in Braxton’s absence, with Clark filling in as the No. 3 guy since returning from his back injury.
  • Even though he’s not listed above, Miguel Mitchell appears to be a second-team safety. He played a handful of snaps against LSU.

Special Teams

POSFirstSecond
KMatthew ShipleyCharlie Von Der Meden
PDevin BaleSam Dubwig
KODevin Bale
LSAshton NgoMax Schmidly
HDevin BaleSam Dubwig
KRIsaiah SategnaRodney Hill
PRIsaiah SategnaBryce Stephens

Changes from last week:

  • There are no changes to the special teams depth chart.

How to Watch Arkansas vs Mississippi State

Date: Saturday, Oct. 26

Location: Davis Wade Stadium (Fayetteville, Ark.)

Kickoff time (TV): 11:45 a.m. CT (ESPN)

Commentators: Dave Neal (play-by-play), Aaron Murray (analyst), Ashley ShahAhmadi (sideline reporter)

ESPN FPI: Arkansas has an 60.2% chance to win.

Odds/Betting Line: Arkansas, -7 | O/U 58 (BetSaracen)

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