Sam Pittman provides optimistic outlook on injuries entering bye week

Arkansas desperately needed to get to the bye week to get healthy. The Razorbacks opened the year with three straight wins, but then dropped three in a row as they underwent a flurry of injury issues, most notably at the quarterback position. However, the Hogs got QB1 KJ Jefferson back in the lineup and ran away from BYU this weekend with a 52-35 win in Provo to right the ship.

Now, they head into the bye week. Arkansas can rest up, heal up, and gear up for a much lighter schedule the second half of the season. At his press conference following the BYU win, Razorback coach Sam Pittman offered an injury update, saying almost everyone would be back for the Auburn game in two weeks.

“Yes. Look, I think so,” he said when asked if the Hogs would be healthy. “I believe that we can have everybody except for [Jalen Catalon] and [LaDarrius Bishop] back for Auburn. And we’ll see. But that’s what I truly believe.”

Sam Pittman very confident in getting most of his team back over the break.

One of those important players who suffered an injury is already back. KJ Jefferson put up incredible numbers and looked like his old self in his return against BYU. According to him, knocking the rust off was pretty easy.

KJ Jefferson on returning from injury

Arkansas broke out of their offensive slump in a major way on Saturday versus the BYU Cougars. With quarterback KJ Jefferson tossing a career-high five touchdown passes in the 52-35 win. The Mississippi native took back his starting role after an injury sidelined him for a week and he said the feeling of returning to the field was “amazing.”

“It did (feel good), just to get the anxiety going, knowing that you’re getting the ball first and going on the field,” Jefferson said. “Just getting that anxiety and that feel back, it was amazing.”

Jefferson missed the Week 6 game versus Mississippi State, which resulted in a 40-17 blowout, after suffering what appeared to be a head injury versus Alabama. After Saturday’s win that moved the Hogs to 4-3 on the year, the team leader discussed the hit he took in the fourth quarterback which was apparently just a “stinger.”

“I’m good, I actually got a stinger,” Jefferson told reporters. “All the years I’ve been playing football I haven’t ever had a stinger. So it kind of scared me, because I was like, ‘Did I break my neck or something?’ I’m doing good, in good spirits. It was just a stinger so it went away quickly. I’m fine.”