Davis not biggest injury concern now

Running back Knile Davis’ health was a big focus throughout the summer, but now that concern has shifted to the defensive side of the ball with several players injured.

Running back Knile Davis’ health was a big focus throughout the summer, but now that concern has shifted to the defensive side of the ball with several players injured.

Monday, August 27, 2012

— Now that Knile Davis has been tackled, are Alonzo Highsmith, Tenarius Wright and Eric Bennett up to tackling?

That’s another question besetting the Arkansas Razorbacks heading into Saturday’s 6 p.m. season opener against Jacksonville State at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Until last Friday night’s closed to media dress rehearsal mock game, Davis had not been tackled since breaking an ankle during a scrimmage on Aug. 11, 2011.

The 2010 All-SEC running back missed the entire 2011 season but practiced without a miss during the 2012 spring and August preseason though without being taken to the ground.

Sketchy reports from under last Friday night’s lights are that on limited carries Davis bobbled one but that he also popped a big run befitting of his 1,322 yards rushing and 13 rushing touchdowns of 2010.

Acceding to Davis’ wishes to be hit just one week before the season opener would have subjected Coach John L. Smith to near infinite second guessing had his fourth-year junior running back been re-injured.

But Davis tweeted that he made it through Friday unscathed.

Anyone watching Knile run before the preseason drills were closed following the Aug. 18 scrimmage knows that he has regained all his speed and then some.

Now that he’s fallen and can get up, Davis ought to start the season nearly as confident in his durability as his power and speed.

Frankly based purely on practice time, Davis seems to have more cause to believe in his season-opening health than senior linebackers Highsmith and Wright and junior safety Bennett do in theirs.

The three defensive first teamers all were injured before or by the first practice in pads Aug. 6.

It’s been mostly “mental reps” ever since.

Even with Bennett (hamstring), Highsmith (hamstring) and Wright (undisclosed effects from an Aug. 6collision with Davis) having returned in some fashion to last week’s closed practices, “mental reps” was again the phrase most invoked by Smith and defensive coordinator Paul Haynes.

With the SEC opener looming Sept. 15 against reigning national champion Alabama, the obvious emphasis primes the three rehabbing defenders for Game Three over too fast rushing their still healing injuries into these successive nonconference games with Jacksonville State and Louisiana-Monroe.

“We’re being smart about it,” Haynes said last week. “It’s a long season. We want to make sure we don’t pop those guys in there and do something crazy or stupid. But they’re getting mental reps. We’re pleased with them.”

Haynes also has been pleased with those practicing plenty while one of his starting safeties and both starting inside linebackers have been limited.

Young safeties Rohan Gaines and Alan Turner have improved with their prime time.

Senior Ross Rasner, always a first teamer whether at safety or outside linebacker, has mainly concentrated on safety while previous reserve inside linebacker Jarrett Lake has stepped up and moved outside.

At the inside linebackers, true freshmen Otha Peters and A.J Turner, and seniors Terrell Williams, a three year letterman reemerged from an unheralded spring, and Kiero Small, a fullback-linebacker two-way throwback, provide Haynes and linebackers coach Taver Johnson more depth than they had closing spring drills.

Sports, Pages 18 on 08/27/2012