Bobby Petrino addresses reports of Chris Wilson striking an Arkansas player

Some concerning reports recently came out of Arkansas. On Monday, it came out that Razorbacks interim defensive coordinator Chris Wilson struck a player in the face back in October.

In the initial report, it shared that Arkansas investigated the incident and found that they were joking around. Now, interim head coach Bobby Petrino has also shared his perspective on the incident, once again reiterating that they were joking and the actual act of striking the player was accidental.

“That all happened, I think it was the first week we were there,” Bobby Petrino said. “Once we had word of it, myself, Hunter [Yurachek] talked with both Chris and Ken. They said they were joking around, shadowboxing. Ken said he bit his lip and people made a big deal out of it. But, we both looked into it. Took it very serious, met with each of them individually, and found that there was nothing to it.”

In the initial report, the player was left anonymous. However, Petrino referenced Ken. That likely is referencing Ken Talley, a defensive lineman on the team. Notably, Wilson is also an assistant defensive line coach at Arkansas.

The picture that Arkansas and Petrino painted about the incident is not entirely different than the initial report. However, it does leave out some of the additional context to the story. It was Chris Hummer of CBS Sports who initially reported the story.

“The incident allegedly began when the 56-year-old Wilson called the player an expletive in the locker room. After the player asked to whom Wilson was speaking, Wilson allegedly doubled down. The two sides then squared up, seemingly as a joke,” Hummer wrote.

“Multiple sources say Wilson swung at least once — one source says Wilson swung twice, another source said the player may have swung first — connecting with the player’s face with enough force to cause bleeding. Wilson left in a huff. The player sought Wilson out elsewhere in the football facility, a source said, to gain an understanding of what happened. Wilson told the player that he had just been messing around.”

The Arkansas coaching staff has been undergoing massive changes this season. Former head coach Sam Pittman was fired after five games and replaced in the interim by offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino. He’s also considered a candidate for the full-time job. He would also quickly make several staff changes on the defensive side of the ball, which included firing defensive coordinator Travis Williams and replacing him with Chris Wilson. Co-defensive coordinator Marcus Wooden and defensive line coach Deke Adams were also fired.