David Oke, Jermod McCoy injury update: Arkansas, Tennessee reveal status of key players on Friday report

On Saturday, No. 12 Tennessee and Arkansas will square off at 4:15 p.m. ET in Knoxville. It will mark the Volunteers’ third conference game of the season, while this will mark SEC game No. 2 for the Razorbacks. It is however Arkansas‘ first game with Bobby Petrino as its head coach since its 29-16 win over Kansas State in the 2012 Cotton Bowl Classic (Jan. 6, 2012).

Former head coach Sam Pittman was relieved of his duties following Arkansas‘ embarrassing 56-13 loss to Notre Dame prior to last weekend’s bye. This elevated Petrino, who was in the midst of his second season as Arkansas‘ Offensive Coordinator, to interim head coach. During his first stint in Fayetteville (2008-2011), Petrino was 1-0 against Tennessee with a 49-7 victory on Nov. 12, 2011.

Heading into that matchup, both teams are dealing with injuries. For both teams’ updated Friday night availability reports, look below.

No. 12 Tennessee Volunteers (4-1, 1-1)

• TE Ethan Davis – QUESTIONABLE
• WR Travis Smith Jr. – DOUBTFUL
• DB Rickey Gibson III – OUT
• WR Radarious Jackson – OUT
• DB Jermod McCoy – OUT

Arkansas Razorbacks (2-3, 0-1)

• TE Jeremiah Beck Jr. – OUT
• WR Jalen Brown – OUT
• WR Ismael Cisse – OUT
• RB AJ Green – OUT
• WR Monte Harrison – OUT
• DL David Oke – OUT
• TE Andreas Paaske – OUT
• DB Quentavius Scandrett – OUT
• TE Ethan Davis – QUESTIONABLE

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said Monday that All-American cornerback Jermod McCoy “continues to do a great job in his rehab”, but did not offer up a timeline for his return. Sources tell On3’s Chris Low and Pete Nakos that McCoy is unlikely to play against Arkansas, and his ‘OUT’ designation on Thursday’s availability report further confirms that.

On3 previously reported that this week’s Arkansas game was a target date for a possible return. But McCoy has not gone through a full practice and has not taken any contact yet, as Volquest’s Brent Hubbs previously reported. The projected First Round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft is still recovering from a January ACL tear.

Both Arkansas and No. 12 Tennessee are coming off bye weeks. The Volunteers held off Mississippi State 41-34 in overtime on the road in Starkville prior to their bye, while the Hogs fell to Notre Dame in that aforementioned bloodbath in Fayetteville. Tennessee improved to 1-1 in conference play with its win over the Bulldogs, as it fell to No. 6 Georgia 44-41 in overtime on Sept. 13 in its first SEC game of the season. 

If kicker Max Gilbert was able to drill the game-winning 43-yard field goal, the ‘Vols would likely be ranked inside the top-six heading into this game. Instead, they sit ranked No. 12 in the nation but could continue their rise up the polls with a convincing win over the Hogs this weekend.

Tennessee boasts one of best offenses in SEC, Arkansas boasts worst offense in SEC

Tennessee boasts (statistically) the second best offense in the SEC (536.4 YPG). Arkansasmeanwhile, by a wide margin, is the worst defense (statistically) in the SEC (425.0 YPG). Josh Heupel‘s team has scored at least 40 points in all five of its games this season (averaging 51.0 PPG), while the Hogs have allowed at least 30 points in all three of its games against Power-Four competition this season (41.0 PPG average).

Unless the Razorback defense is sparked by the firing of defensive coordinator Travis Williams, Saturday’s game could see yet another big performance from Tennessee‘s offense. Williams was replaced by Chris Wilson, who was in the midst of his first season as Arkansas‘ assistant defensive line coach.

“We’ve all got to learn that there’s change and things that happen,” Petrino said about Williams’ firing. “I think in football you have to always talk about courage and being courageous. That’s part of what we have to do now as a team is understand that we all have to take the arrow in the forehead.”

These two programs have met 20 times previously. Tennessee leads the all-time series 13-7, but Arkansas has won four consecutive games against the Volunteers dating back to 2011. The Razorbacks won last season’s meeting 19-14 over the then No. 4 ranked ‘Vols and rushed the field.