Update: It’s official. Knile Davis, a second team All-SEC running back and 1,400 yard rusher in 2010, will miss the entire 2011 college football season with a severe ankle injury.
Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino released a statement through the school this morning, which read in part:
“I am extremely disappointed for Knile,” Petrino said. “He is a captain, who was incredibly focused on the upcoming year. His leadership throughout the off-season was significant to the development of this team.”
As Crystal Ball Run mentioned last night, this is an especially devastating blow for a young Arkansas offense, that expected Davis to carry it. The Razorbacks are breaking in a handful of new starters on the offensive line, as well as new starting quarterback Tyler Wilson.
Look for Ronnie Wingo Jr. (253 yards in 2010) and Dennis Johnson to get the bulk of his carries.
Orginal Story: The first major news out of fall camp hit Thursday night, and it’s not looking good if you’re an Arkansas Razorbacks fan.
While no official injury news has been confirmed (effective 10:22 p.m. EST), it appears as though All-SEC running back Knile Davis has suffered a severe injury. He was taken off the practice field on a stretcher earlier this evening.
This, from the Sporting News:
Running back Knile Davis left Thursday’s practice on a cart and was unable to put pressure on his left leg after injuring it in a running drill. ArkansasSports360.com was the first to report the injury.
The severity of the injury is not known.
A similarly cryptic Tweet was then put out by Razorbacks beat writer Robbie Neiswanger of the Arkansas News Bureau who said:
Potential bad news for Hogs. RB Knile Davis injured left leg during scrimmage. He was carted off the field a few minutes ago. More later
What we know: Davis leg caught in pile. He screamed. He put no pressure on left leg as he was helped off. Then carted to the locker room.
And finally this, from CFN’s Barrett Sallee:
According to some Arkansas people I just spoke with, Knile Davis’ scream was “so loud it will haunt us in our dreams.” (quote from source)
So while nothing has yet been confirmed, it does look like a potential worst case scenario Arkansas, a team that was thought by many to be a dark horse National Championship contender. The Hogs are coming off an impressive 10-2 regular season in 2010 (and both a win and a loss to Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl) and entered this year as the No. 14 ranked team in the USA Today/Coaches Poll. The staff at Crystal Ball Run had the Razorbacks ranked No. 8 in the country.
However so much of that ranking depended on the health of Davis, who emerged as maybe the best running back in all of college football during the second half of the 2010 season.
After seeing limited playing time early on, Davis burst on the scene against Auburn, where he carried 14 times for 91 yards in a hard-fought loss to the eventual National Champions. A week later he had the best game of his career, busting out for 176 yards and three touchdowns at home against Ole Miss. From then on, Davis was simply outstanding, as he rushed for over 100 yards in five of Arkansas last six games, including 139 yards against Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl. The Buckeyes finished with the No. 3 ranked rushing defense in college football last season. Davis entered the 2011 season as one of the Heisman Trophy favorites.
The news of a potential injury is especially crippling, as a young Arkansas team was expecting to lean on Davis, as they’ll be breaking in new starting quarterback Tyler Wilson, and three new starters on the offensive line as well.
If the injury does cause Davis to miss time to injury, only Ronnie Wingo (253 yards rushing in 2010) has experience behind him. Dennis Johnson would also be expected to receive carries, and it may also mean that Arkansas will take to the air more with Wilson at quarterback. The Razorbacks return three receivers that had over 40 catches last year, including Greg Childs, who missed significant time himself because of a knee injury.
Regardless, this devastating news for a team with such high expectations heading into the season.
Crystal Ball Run will keep you updated as news continues to develop.
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