Arkansas loses expected starter on defensive line to ankle injury

Cam Ball is expected to be Arkansas’ No. 1 defensive tackle next season. He’ll miss most of the next few weeks.

The Arkansas defense was one of the worst in the country last year. So any further personnel losses would hurt the Hogs.

Bummer.

Defensive tackle Cam Ball will miss most of the rest of spring practice because of ankle injury, coach Sam Pittman said Wednesday. He was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain and was seen in a walking boot during Arkansas’ Pro Day.

Ball had 31 tackles last year, third most among all Razorbacks’ defensive lineman, despite not being a starter. Since the team’s Liberty Bowl win against Kansas, however, Ball has found himself locked in with the first-teamers.

The good news for the Razorbacks is that his ankle was merely sprained. The bad news is that high ankle sprains tend to linger.

Arkansas ranked 124th out of 131 FBS teams last year in total defense. Taurean Carter and Eric Gregory are likely to get the lion’s share of the reps on the inside when Arkansas uses a four-lineman set for the rest of the spring.

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