CB Love to have surgery FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas cornerback and team captain Jamar Love is scheduled to undergo surgery on his thumb today and a timetable for his return is not known, Arkansas associate athletic director Kevin Trainor said Tuesday.

More information on Love’s status is expected today.

Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino did not mention Love’s injury Monday, and he did not speak with the media Tuesday.

Love, a senior from North Little Rock who has started all five games, ranks second on the team with 31 tackles. He also has three tackles for loss and leads the Razorbacks with seven pass breakups.

In Love’s absence, sophomore Ramon Broadway moved up to first-team cornerback, where he paired with Isaac Madison. Broadway had the Razorbacks’ first takeaway this season, an interception in the fourth quarter against Alabama in Week 3.

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In two weeks, the Hogs have lost their only two senior starters on defense. Defensive tackle Ernest Mitchell was dressed out and back at practice Tuesday, six days after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery, though he was wearing a compression sleeve on his left knee and he worked on the sideline. Mitchell had surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus, and he is expected to miss four to six weeks. Freshman linebacker Jelani Smith (hand ) continued to work with the rehabbing players, making a request for a medical redshirt more of a distinct possibility. Smith started the first two games and recorded eight tackles, one for loss, and had a forced fumble before being injured.

Not a job hunt Last November, a rumor that Tommy Tuberville — the Camden native in his 10 th season as Auburn’s coach — was going to be Arkansas’ new coach got so hot that some media outlets reported it was set to happen.

At the time, Tuberville was on his annual duck hunting trip in Arkansas with longtime friends, adding fire to the rumor.

“We all get together after Thanksgiving,” Tuberville said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. “It’s kind of a time to blow off steam. [Arkansas ] just happened to have a job open last year, but I wasn’t looking [to leave Auburn ], and am not looking.

“ That’s just how rumors get started.” Tuberville said reports that he was in Arkansas during the search for a new Razorbacks coach led to a rumor frenzy.

“It sells papers, I’m sure,” he said. “It gets people to turn on their TV sets. Bloggers had a good time. Talk shows really had fun.

“ But there’s got to be more to talk about than a guy going duck hunting.... And I will be going back this year, thank you, so go ahead and print it now so it won’t be a surprise.” Beat up Auburn Coach Tommy Tuberville said the only player expected to miss Saturday’s game against Arkansas is cornerback Jerraud Powers, who has a hamstring injury. But Tuberville said the Tigers “have an injury problem with guys just beat up in the middle of the season.” Tuberville said Auburn could use an open date, but that won’t come until Oct. 18. “We’ll just have to work through it,” Tuberville said. “Most guys will play, but it’s going to be hard to get everybody on the practice field at one time.” Linebacker pairing Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino called the performance of linebacker Jerry Franklin last Saturday “probably his best game” after the freshman logged nine tackles and an interception against Florida.

Petrino liked the combination of Franklin and Wendel Davis at linebacker, a pairing which got a lot of reps against the Gators.

“[Franklin’s ] speed at that area and being covered up by a defensive tackle helps him utilize his speed,” Petrino said. “Wendel really ran around and made a lot of real good tackles and showed his physicalness. The combination of the two of them were a little faster and more physical, so to me it’s a good combination.” Smith’s stamina Arkansas junior tailback Michael Smith averaged 6. 7 yards per carry in both halves while rushing for 133 yards against Florida last week. That’s the first time all season Smith has managed to match his first-half productivity level after halftime. Smith ran 12 times for 80 yards in the first half and had 8 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown in the second half. “He’s doing a great job of taking care of his body,” Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said. “He’s in every morning at 6 o’clock in the cold tubs, getting extra stretching in, doing a real nice job after practice. “ It’s been real important to him to make sure he’s doing everything possible to keep his body in great shape and his legs fresh. You wouldn’t believe how much he’s putting into doing all that.” Blitz blocking Arkansas’ revamped offensive line scored generally positive marks for its play in last Saturday’s loss to Florida. Considering the Hogs began the game with a new starter in guard Grant Cook and had to replace first-game starter Michael Aguirre with Grant Freeman at weakside tackle after one play, their cohesiveness was solid and their blitz pick-up was commendable.

“We did a good job against the blitz,” offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said. “When they blitzed is when we had our good plays. Our blitz checks were really good. Sometimes we had problems against a four-man rush because we didn’t get open fast enough.”