More defensive line depth appears on the way for Hogs against Ole Miss
All signs point to the Arkansas Razorbacks (2-0, 0-0 SEC) having more depth on the interior of the defensive line, as defensive tackle David Oke‘s name was removed from Friday’s SEC Availability Report.
Oke has not appeared in a game yet this season, as a knee injury he sustained in fall camp sidelined him for the first two weeks of the season. He had previously been listed as “Questionable” on the first two availability reports released on Wednesday and Thursday.
On Monday, Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said he needed Oke to practice for at least three days this week to be able to go against the Rebels, who are coming off a 30-23 win over Kentucky in their SEC-opener last weekend.
Pittman said on the SEC Teleconference that Oke practiced Tuesday and given he’s not on the availability report, it appears he practiced enough this week to get the green light.
Oke’s presence on the field gives the Razorbacks another body to line up alongside redshirt senior Cam Ball. Ian Geffrard and Danny Saili have been mainstays in Oke’s absence, and have performed well, but Pittman said Wednesday he needs to see more production out of that position group.
“We’ve got to get more production out of our interior guys,” Pittman said. “We don’t have a lot there. The guys we’ve talked about, as far as production, are the defensive ends in Phillip (Lee) and Quincy (Rhodes Jr.). So we’ve got to get more production out of those guys on the inside.”
We don’t yet know exactly what Oke is capable of on the field for the Razorbacks, but he was highly productive at Abilene Christian, where he spent three years before he transferred to Arkansas. He appeared in 31 games, racked up 84 tackles, including 10.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. He also forced two fumbles and deflected two passes.
The Razorbacks and Rebels will kick off in primetime on Saturday night from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT and the game will air on ESPN.
