As we move into the second half of the season, Arkansas is sitting solid at 5-1, with their only loss coming to a very, very good Alabama team (did we mention the Tide are really good?). But suffice it to say the weakness of the Razorbacks has been their inability to run the ball consistently -- due in part because of offensive line problems, as well as injuries to the running back spot.
Starting RB Knile Davis is already gone for the year with a broken ankle; Dennis Johnson had been fighting injuries over the past year and Broderick Green has only recently returned from an ACL tear. Now, the Razorbacks backfield could be losing another contributor for the year.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that RB Kody Walker has been dealing an ankle problem over the past few weeks, and might try to obtain a medical redshirt for the rest of the year. A medical redshirt can be applied when a player misses 30 percent or less of the season.
No timetable for return has been set if Williams can’t redshirt.
“That’s something that Jon (Fagg), our director of compliance would have to look into,” offensive coordinator Garrick McGee told the Gazette when asked about Williams redshirting. “If we can’t get his year back, we probably should have recruited another (big) guy by the time he’s a senior, anyway.”
Williams is fifth on the team 20 carries for 68 yards and 5 touchdowns. To give a sense of how much Arkansas has been running the ball by committee, receiver Joe Adams is the team’s second-leading rusher with 136 yards -- 92 of which came on a touchdown run against Auburn in Week 6.