Yesterday, Arkansas running back Knile Davis raised a few eyebrows from local beat writers -- which then translated into more raised eyebrows and subsequent whisperings of “what if” by Hog fans everywhere -- when Davis showed up to practice in pads.
Davis, as you’ll remember, broke his ankle in preseason camp, an injury that was believed to be season-ending at the time. But despite possible hopes for the contrary, coach Bobby Petrino dismissed any notion that Davis would see the field this late in the season.
“Obviously, Knile would like to play,” Petrino said Wednesday. “He has been out at practice now for about three weeks running around, doing some individual (drills), doing a little bit of our run game, but he’s not in a position where he can play. He’s still has to have some hardware taken out of his ankle.”
Davis was the SEC’s leading rusher a year ago with 1,322 yards. This year’s group has been one run (no pun intended) by committee. And, despite the injuries, the Hogs are sitting at 9-1 with an outside chance of making it into the SEC championship game should they beat LSU in a couple of weeks.
“I think Ronnie Wingo‘s running the ball real well. And it’s great to have Broderick (Green) back with his power and his ability to break tackles,” Petrino added. “The offensive line is coming around, really improved. Tyler (Wilson) is doing a better job of not running plays we can’t block and the receivers are blocking downfield, so it’s just all 11 guys working hard at it.”