Sam Pittman reveals injuries sustained during Arkansas scrimmage

Arkansas is working through fall camp, hitting another milestone on Saturday. Head coach Sam Pittman hosted the first scrimmage, getting a look at how the Razorbacks will look. There is always one thing coaches value more than the actual play on the field during scrimmages and it’s health.

Unfortunately for Arkansas, they were not able to come away 100% healthy. Pittman revealed two players, wide receiver Sam Mbake and tight end Nathan Bax, suffered injuries during the scrimmage. He was not able to provide any further details but did mention they did not return to practice once going down.

“We did have a couple of guys that got banged up,” Pittman said. “Sam Mbake and Nathan Bax. At this time, I don’t know the full extent of their injuries. But they did get injured and were not able to come back to the scrimmage.”

Of the two, Bax is more experienced. The tight end is entering his redshirt senior and sixth season of college football, being with the Arkansas programs since 2019. Bax was originally a walk-on after transferring in from Eastern Illinois and has worked his way into playing time during his tenure in Fayetteville.

Bax played in 11 games during the 2022 season and finally earned a start during the Liberty Bowl against Kansas. The production was limited, though, as Bax only caught two passes for a total of five yards. In what could be his last season in the sport, hopefully the injury is not too significant.

As for Mbake, he is entering his second season after being a member of Arkansas’ 2022 recruiting class. He got a lot of playing time during his freshman year but most of it was on the special teams unit. A great sign as to how Pittman and the coaching staff feel about the wide receiver.

Mbake has been versatile for Arkansas as well. There was a portion of the season where he was in the defensive back room, changing sides of the ball. However, the move was made back to wide receiver and Mbake will play there heading into 2023.

But before contributing this season, both Bax and Mbake must get through these injuries. Pittman was not able to provide too much injury on Saturday. But next time he talks to the media, there should be a diagnosis for the duo. We can all hope the information is positive news.