Paul James entered Rutgers’ game with Arkansas leading the nation rushing. Not only did he exit the win over the Razorbacks sans that distinction, he left with what appears to be a rather significant injury.
RU officials confirmed Sunday afternoon that the running back will be sidelined for at least the next two games due to what’s only being described as a lower-leg injury. The injury will cost James at bare minimum games against SMU (Oct. 5) and Louisville (Oct. 10) following a bye weekend.
In broad terms, the school stated that James will be out “a few weeks,” although an exact timeframe for a return should become into focus later on this week or next.
James initially suffered the injury in the third quarter, returned, then aggravated it again in the fourth quarter.
Through the first three games of the season, James led the country in rushing with 493 yards. He finished with 80 yards against the Hogs, dropping him to No. 2 behind Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon (624). His six rushing touchdowns are tied with seven other players for fifth at the FBS level.
The Scarlet Knights’ second-leading rusher is Savon Huggins, who finished second on the team last season and is a former four-star recruit.