Arkansas linebacker Chris Paul Jr. leaves game following collision on tackle

The Arkansas Razorbacks have likely lost one of their key defensive players late in the second quarter against the Ole Miss Rebels. Razorbacks linebacker Chris Paul Jr. attempted a diving tackle on the Rebels’ starting quarterback, Jaxson Dart, on a scramble. But as Dart quickly popped back on his feet, Paul attempted to get up but collapsed back to the ground.

The sophomore linebacker from Cordele, GA, was writhing on the field in pain as the Arkansas medical staff attended to him. He would remain on the ground for quite some time, and as he did, it was revealed that he took a significant shot to the head as he attempted to tackle Dart. Paul smashed face mask first into the ground on the attempted tackle.

Paul has since been assisted into the locker room by the Arkansas medical staff. Currently, there is no further information on the injury sustained by Paul, and his status for the second half remains unknown.

HC Sam Pitman talks Arkansas’ offensive struggles in first quarter against Ole Miss

It was an uneven first quarter-plus of play for Sam Pittman’s Arkansas squad on the road at Ole Miss. Trailing 10-7 early in the 2nd quarter, Pittman was trying to hang on to the good while ironing out the bad.

He explained to SEC Network sideline reporter Alyssa Lang that he’s pleased with how the defense has played, but they’ve been put in tough spots. As for the offense, Pittman said the blocking needs to get better.

“That whole first series we didn’t do a great job of blocking, we just made plays. Defense is playing really well if we don’t put them in bad situations. We’ve gotta find a way to score and hopefully our defense can keep them out of scoring,” Pittman said.

The good news for Pittman is that since he spoke with Lang, the defense stymied the Ole Miss offense. But so far, the offense has yet to come to life against the Rebels defense.

After Kendal Briles left Arkansas to become the offensive coordinator at TCU, Pittman brought Dan Enos back to Fayetteville. He previously served as the Razorbacks’ OC from 2015-17, but opted to return to help KJ Jefferson and the offense take a step forward.

Through five games, that hasn’t been the case. Arkansas ranks last in the SEC in total offense despite ranking seventh in the league in scoring. It’s been a mixed bag for the Razorbacks so far as Jefferson is averaging just 210 passing yards per game.