Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

I.      Held Out

Arkansas running back Knile Davis took part in the Razorbacks’ drills Friday afternoon, but was held out from the unofficial 142-play scrimmage portion of practice.

Davis is coming off an ankle injury that sidelined him for the entire 2011 season, but has practiced with the team since mid-November.

“We didn't go with Knile in the scrimmage,” Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said. “We will take that on a week-by-week basis and see how the spring goes. Whether he gets any contact or not, we're going to make that decision just weekly with myself and our medical staff.”

With Davis out, seniors Dennis Johnson and Ronnie Wingo saw action at running back with the first team. Johnson rushed the ball 13 times for 80 yards and three touchdowns while Wingo rushed 12 times while also catching five passes.

“He's been doing everything,” Petrino said of Davis. “He's been going full speed. He's been cutting. Everything looks good. It's just something I consult with our medical staff and we made a decision that let's not tackle him today.”

In 2010, Davis lead the Razorbacks in rushing with 1,362 yards and 13 touchdowns while also being named All-Southeastern Conference first team running back.

II.     Increasing Role

Arkansas fullback Kiero Small started all 13 games at fullback for the Hogs in 2011, but only appeared in two stats.

The 5-foot-10, 255-pound senior rushed one time for 1 yard and caught one pass for 7 yards, but Small could be seeing a bigger role in 2012 for the Razorbacks.

“He's thinner, he's faster, and he's been able to be more of our offense than just a lead blocker,” Petrino said.

Small rushed twice for 17 yards and caught two passes for 17 yards in the scrimmage.