Rocket Sanders’ first game back from injury didn’t go quite as well as he had hoped. A week later, his coach thinks the preseason All-American will take a big step forward.
Sanders, Arkansas’ junior running back, has played in just two of the team’s five games so far this season. After running for more than 1,400 yards last year, Sanders has just 76 on 26 carries. A knee injury he suffered in Week 1 kept him out for the Razorbacks’ games against Kent State, Brigham Young and LSU.
Coach Sam Pittman said Sanders wasn’t completely healed against Texas A&M last week, but was good enough to go. And given Arkansas’ two-game skid entering that game, the Razorbacks needed him back.
“Any time you’re a little rusty, which I felt like he probably was last week,” Pittman said, “and not totally 100 percent, you’re not going to be able to play as good as you normally would. I believe the knee is feeling much better than it did last week.”
Ole Miss’ biggest weakness is stopping the run, too. The Rebels are allowing 145 yards a game on the ground to rank 81st in FBS and 12th in the SEC, ahead of only Vanderbilt and the team Ole Miss beat last week, LSU.
If Sanders’ return to health coincides with improvement up front after Pittman instituted changes to the Arkansas offensive line this week, the Razorbacks could snap the streak.
“Obviously, we have to block for him better up front than what we have and all that, but he’s also in the past broke a lot of tackles,” Pittman said. “When he gets healthy, he’ll do that again. We need some explosive plays, and he’s certainly one of the ones who can give it to us.”