FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas running back Knile Davis was injured during the first series of the Razorbacks’ first preseason scrimmage Thursday afternoon at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Davis, a junior captain, appeared to injure his ankle or leg on the play and remained on the field for several minutes while being tended to by team trainers. He was eventually helped off the field and carted into the Broyles Center, where the team’s locker and training rooms are located.
The extent of the injury is unknown, though our sister publication Hawgs Illustrated reports Davis’ injury is “major” and the running back could miss “a significant portion of the season.”
Arkansas offensive coordinator Garrick McGee declined to answer questions about the injury, noting head coach Bobby Petrino was the only staff member able to do so, per team policies.
Multiple questions directed toward Razorbacks players about the injury were cut off by the school’s media relations department.
Davis has struggled with ankle injuries in the past. His senior year of high school was cut short because of a broken ankle, an injury he suffered again going through spring workouts with the Razorbacks as a freshman in 2009.
The Missouri City, Texas, native was the Southeastern Conference’s leading rusher among running backs last season, rushing for 1,322 yards and 13 touchdowns after taking over as a starter midway through the year.
Arkansas coaches were disappointed with how the team responded after lightning delayed practice Wednesday. McGee said the team responded well to the delay caused by Davis’ injury.
“My point during that whole thing was to get everybody’s focus back in,” said quarterback Tyler Wilson said. “You maybe see some timidness for the next few plays, but you have got to get everybody honed back in and working the way we should work. I thought we did a good job and the energy after that happened was pretty good.”
Arkansas was already down a running back prior to Davis’ injury after Broderick Green tore his anterior cruciate ligament during spring practice. Redshirt junior Dennis Johnson, junior Ronnie Wingo and freshman Kody Walker received extensive work during Thursday’s scrimmage.
The workout was Arkansas’ eighth of the preseason but the first in which players were allowed to be tackled.
“It’s hard to tell how hard someone runs and how hard it is to tackle them until you go live,” McGee said. “I was really impressed with (Walker). He’s big, he’s nimble and has really big hips, so it’s hard to bring him down.
“He really understood what to do and didn’t make many errors.”
Walker finished the scrimmage with 15 carries for 66 yards. Johnson, an expected starter at running back before a season-ending injury last year, finished with 33 yards on 12 carries, while Wingo finished with 30 yards on six attempts.
Wilson had the most impressive scrimmage among the Razorbacks’ offensive players. The quarterback completed 16 of 20 passes for 233 yards and four touchdowns.
“We have the first few plays scripted and there were some mistakes, which were disappointing,” Wilson said. “From that point on, we looked pretty good. There were a couple of times where I thought the receivers would do a couple of different things and we ended up getting on the same page, and looked good.
“We’ll come back tomorrow and have it cleaned it up.”
Brandon Mitchell struggled in his time directing the offense. The redshirt sophomore completed 14 of 30 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown.
Jarius Wright led all receivers with five catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns, while Joe Adams added five catches for 50 yards and two touchdowns.
You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.
Don’t jump…until you find out for sure what it is.
Holy cow. I sure hope it is not as bad as it sounds.
Hope for Knile and for the team that it’s not a serious injury. We’re pulling for you to recover soon … stronger than ever Mr. Davis. WPS!
If it’s an ankle sprain we’ll be okay without him for a few games. DJ and Ronnie Wingo are running well.
Get well soon Knile so you can light up those SEC defenses down the road.
I don’t take much of what I hear from people like Chris Bahn and other sources that seriously. I think Bahn said himself he wasn’t a RZB fan, so that means he’s interested in profits only. Bottom line is, this is football, injuries happen. Man up, and step up. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Just gives DJ and Wingo a chance to shine in the eyes of the NFL SCOUTS. If its just a high ankle, he will be back by the 2nd game anyway.
Unfortunately, injuries are part of the game. Hope the kid makes a complete and fast recovery. Until then, it’s time for Wingo and DJ to step up. Kody Walker sounds like a gifted athlete, as well.
Regardless, get well soon, number 7.
Living in Korea, it is currently mid-day Friday, so my coworker (a Bama fan) and I have been prowling all of the SEC blogs since the news broke. Unfortunately, it is being reported on one of the Alabama sites that Knile suffered a compound fracture. Not only is the injury season-ending but possibly career-ending. Supposedly, he was undergoing surgery late August 11 (CST). Their source was ESPN analyst Joe Schad.
Hopefully, that is just wishful thinking on the part of Bama fans, but it was certainly disturbing reading some of the tweets from practice attendants, commenting on how loud Knile was screaming.
Get well soon KD, we wish you the best! WPS!
I hope he can be back out there before SEC play, that being said I for one have complete confidence in Dennis/Wingo
I hope this is being blown out of proportion, but I Got a bad feeling in my gut, one of the things I was worried about when we donned the pads. But hey its football, hoping for a speedy recovery for you Kniles.
It’s terrible he went down, had high hopes for him this year; however, it’s not the end of the world. We have two if not three (Walker) backs that can carry the load. I’ve always felt Wingo has the most talent, maybe he can actually prove it now.
Knile is a talented back and I hope that it’s not as serious as I think it will be. Regardless I wish him a speedy recovery and hope it’s not a career ending injury. As for the season, this does not bring me down one bit. Out of the three backs we have remaining (Wingo, DJ, Walker) one of these is going to shine. If everybody can remember the spring game who was everyone most impressed with running the ball???….Wingo. No matter what the out come is of Davis’ injury we will be fine! WPS and get well soon Knile!
Injuries are unfortunate and bad. While it is OK to speculate, some of the speculations are bad and unfortunate. We know he is afforded all of the safety precautions possible to not risk further damage. I will wait until we hear from the University. Like Green, Davis will be difficult to replace because he is a great individual besides just making yards, scoring touchdowns, and not fumbling.
WPS!!!
Keep the faith Knile, you’ll be back.
He’s already proven how tough he is, you just know he will fight back from this will all he’s got! As for those behind him, time to step up guys! Good teams always close ranks and come out better when faced with adversity! Good luck Knile, and Go Hogs!
I think Knile Davis is one of the Top three Running Backs in the Country,BUT,we have three WAR HOSSES in Dennis Johnson,Ronnie Wingo,and Kody Walker,i think one or two,maybe all three will make their case in the first Three Games.
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