Sam Pittman details health of Rocket Sanders this week
On Saturday, the Arkansas Razorbacks saw the return of star running back Raheim ‘Rocket’ Sanders in their thrilling 39-36 overtime victory over the Florida Gators in the Swamp. Sanders was a lightning rod for the Razorbacks’ offense as he made his triumphant return, helping Arkansas keep its bowl season hopes alive.
Head coach Sam Pittman has done his very best not to overwork his offensive star, assisting in maintaining his clean bill of health. As Arkansas prepares to try and pick up their fifth win of the season in Week 11 against Auburn at home, the Razorbacks headman detailed how he is keeping Sanders fit to play on Saturday.
“We’re still watching him rep-wise in practice,” said Pittman. “We don’t want that knee swelling up; we want him ready. I thought he ran as hard as he ever has and made a great run on the 10-yard play there in overtime.
“But we’re watching him, which probably hurts him a little bit because we’re not giving him the number of reps at practice that he needs because he was out for a lengthy period of time. But it certainly seemed to work out Saturday for him. And I think he’s a little better this week than what he was going into the game last week.”
Sanders had a return to remember against the Gators. The junior running back and Florida native was a part of the dynamic 1-2 punch out of the backfield for Arkansas that helped win the game. Sanders had 18 carries for 103 yards, averaging 5.7 yards a carry. That was coupled with star quarterback KJ Jefferson’s 17 carries for 92 yards and a touchdown.
The tandem of Jefferson and Sanders was just five yards shy of combining for 200 rushing yards against the Gator’s defense.
Pittman provides injury update on trio of Arkansas players
Arkansas picked up a big win over the weekend, snapping a losing skid by taking a first-ever victory over Florida in Gainesville in overtime. But Pittman’s squad suffered a handful of injuries along the way.
One Arkansas player, Ty Washington, is expected to be out for the rest of the year. Three others — wideout Andrew Armstrong, defensive lineman Anthony “Tank” Booker Jr. and offensive lineman Patrick Kutas — are at varying stages of recovery prior to a matchup with Auburn.
“I feel good about Andrew and Tank, probably still a question mark on Kutas. That ankle, even though he’s moving around a little bit, I don’t know how much availability he would have on Saturday. But we’ll just have to wait and see there,” Pittman said on the SEC coaches teleconference on Wednesday.
Armstrong is the leading receiver for the Razorbacks by a wide margin, with 46 catches. The next closest player has 25 receptions. And Armstrong has taken those catches for 623 yards and four touchdowns.
Booker plays consistently on the defensive front for the Razorbacks, and has 1.5 tackles for loss in eight appearances in 2023.