Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Pittman: Hogs healing for bowl
FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas should be healthier for its Texas Bowl appearance against TCU on New Year’s Eve than it has been for the past several games.
The Razorbacks ( 3-7) faced a wave of personnel losses due to covid-19 testing and tracing for their 27-24 loss to LSU on Nov. 21, then had multiple key players dinged up for the final two games against Missouri and Alabama.
Among them were quarterbacks Feleipe Franks ( ribs) and KJ Jefferson
( knee); middle linebacker Grant Morgan (knee); center Ricky Stromberg (concussion); and tight ends Hudson Henry (leg) and Marcus Henderson, who had missed time with an undisclosed injury.
Coach Sam Pittman said the team is on the mend with four more full practices and one more walk-through available before the Razorbacks take on the Horned Frogs (64).
“Just as simple as I can say it, we’re healthy,” Pittman said on his weekly video conference Monday.
Pittman mentioned that offensive tackle Noah Gatlin is still questionable with the redshirt sophomore on hold after dealing with a concussion earlier in the season.
He also said defensive end Julius Coates, who missed the Alabama game, would not be returning for the bowl. Sources with knowledge told the Democrat-Gazette that UA officials are helping Coates with an off-the-field matter.
“I think everybody else, unless they got hurt for the season, will be available for the bowl,” he said.
That’s positive news for Morgan, who was leading the NCAA with 111 tackles at the time of his injury. Morgan’s left knee was torqued in a pileup in the third quarter of the Razorbacks’ 50-48 loss at Missouri. The Razorbacks were leading 33-23 at the time and expanded that to 40-26 early in the fourth quarter before being unable to slow the Tigers.
Two sources with knowledge said Morgan’s rehab has been going well, and he is anticipating having a chance to play in the bowl game.
It’s also good news for Jefferson, whose left knee was twisted in the third quarter of the season finale against Alabama.
The redshirt freshman, who had a huge performance filling in for Franks in the Missouri game, announced he had no torn ligaments after receiving an MRI.
Franks felt well enough to start in the 52-3 loss to Alabama, though he wound up splitting time with Jefferson. Franks completed 8 of 10 passes against the Crimson Tide for 90 yards, improving his completion percentage to 68.5%. He is on pace to surpass Kevin Scanlon’s single-season school record of 66.2% completions set in 1979.
Pittman has wondered in recent days whether the team’s cumulative health played a role in the narrow losses down the stretch. He was asked about the Razorbacks managing to complete their 10-game schedule during the coronavirus pandemic and expanded on his answer about the team’s health.
“I’m really proud of that,” he said. “The only problem was we kind of limped into the end of the year. I felt like we had a few close games that we couldn’t close out that maybe earlier in the year we might have.
“I don’t know that, but I’m really glad that we were able to get this schedule in. I’m glad we played it.”
Pittman noted the Razorbacks played four teams ranked in the top nine of the final College Football Playoff rankings in No. 1 Alabama, No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 7 Florida and No. 9 Georgia. That made the Razorbacks and Tennessee the only team in the country to take on four teams in the top 10.
“You got hit early with Georgia and Florida, and then the two neutral games were no longer neutral anymore,” Pittman said, referencing Arkansas games pulled from NFL stadiums against Texas A&M (AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas) and Missouri (Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.). “You had to go to College Station, you had to go to Columbia. And then the covid and all that.
“With all that said, to be where we’re at to be invited to the Texas Bowl at this point with a healthy football team, I’m just really proud with everybody involved with the way that we got through the 10 games.”