Arkansas expected to have star RB Rocket Sanders back in action for matchup against Texas A&M

Arkansas is set to have one of its top players back in action when it faces Texas A&M today.

Preseason All-American running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders made the trip to the game and is expected to play, a source tells On3.

Sanders hasn’t played since Week 1, when he suffered a knee injury during a 56-13 win over Western Carolina. The junior ran for 42 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries against Western Carolina before suffering the injury.

Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman had shared a positive update on Sanders earlier this week.

“Well I’m as confident as I’ve been since the Western Carolina game,” Pittman said Wednesday. “I would be lying to you if I told you that I’m sure he’s going to play. I feel better about his opportunity to play, but we still have to see how he recovered from yesterday’s limited reps that he participated in and go from there. But this week, I thought he was further ahead on Monday than what I thought he would be. Didn’t swell up too bad on him yesterday.”

Sanders was one of the breakout stars of last season. After rushing for 578 yards as a freshman in 2021, the former four-star recruit ranked second in the SEC with 1,443 rushing yards last year and was a first-team All-SEC selection. The rushing yardage was the fourth-most in a single season in Arkansas history. He also had 271 receiving yards and 12 total touchdowns (10 rushing, two receiving).

Arkansas, which lost to BYU and LSU the last two weeks with Sanders unavailable, enters the matchup against A&M as a 6.5-point underdog.

The Aggies are 3-1 and coming off a 27-10 win over Auburn, although this will be their first full game without starting QB Conner Weigman, who suffered a season-ending injury during the game against Auburn. Max Johnson, who threw two touchdown passes last week, will make his first start this season.