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David Oke injury update: Sam Pittman reveals Arkansas DL's status for Arkansas State game

IMG_6598by: Nick Kosko09/02/25nickkosko59
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Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

David Oke is not going to play this weekend against Arkansas State, Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman revealed. The defensive lineman was unavailable due to injury against Alabama A&M.

Oke had 22 tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble last season. Going into this year, he was expected to be a contributor to the defense. But for now, he’s still on the mend.

“Well, we had, obviously, we have meetings every day, and then he was one of the topics for this morning. He seems to be doing really well,” Pittman said. “He will not be ready this week, but to get him back by Ole Miss, we’ll see. But I think there’s a possibility. Now, what that is, I don’t know, but I think there’s more of a possibility that may happen than what I, maybe, thought last week.”

Pittman mentioned Oke could make it back for the Ole Miss game. The Razorbacks travel out to play the Rebels on September 13th.

As a member of the Class of 2022, Oke was a three-star recruit out of Houston (Texas) Alief Hastings, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking. He was the No. 245 overall prospect in the state, the No. 116 EDGE in the class and the No. 1,726 overall prospect in the class.

David Oke injury update: Arkansas DL unlikely to play this week

Pittman would like to have a guy like Oke back, but Arkansas should be favored again this weekend. As far as the general picture of the Razorbacks, Pittman was asked about being on the hot seat, dubbed by many media pundits. This was ahead of the season opener.

Pittman was asked this week about whether being on the hot seat adds any additional pressure. He answered fairly bluntly.

“No, it really doesn’t,” Pittman said. “I’m not on social media or anything like that. Really all that matters is how our team plays, and I can control that to a certain degree. And I can’t control what people think about me or what they write about me, so I really am not really concerned about it.”

Still, with a 30-31 overall record through five seasons — including a 14-28 mark in SEC play — there’s no doubt Pittman needs to get things going a bit. A 2-0 straight could erase some doubt, at least temporarily.