Petrino offers injury updates

BENTONVILLE — Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett’s and defensive end Tenarius Wright’s left feet are doing well Xrays showed Monday.

Running back Knile Davis had surgery Sunday after breaking his left collarbone.

The extent of the injury to quarterback Jacoby Walker’s left knee is still being determined.

Razorbacks Coach Bobby Petrino gave those injury updates in a media session Monday night before speaking to the Northwest Arkansas Razorback Club at Bentonville High School.

Davis and Walker were injured during Saturday night’s Red-White intrasquad game, which capped Petrino’s third spring practice with the Razorbacks.

Walker is a true freshman who graduated from Houston Westfield High School in January so he could enroll at Arkansas and start working out with his new teammates. He had a strong spring game before injuring his knee in the final minutes when he slipped while gaining 24 yards running on the rain-soaked turf.

“He hyperextended it ... he kind of overstrided, and there’s certainly some problems with it,” Petrino said. “But he’s got to finish finals, and we need to get it rehabbed and then go back in after finals are over with and make a decision on how we’re going to address it.”

Before Walker was injured, he completed 6 of 11 passes for 183 yards and 2 touchdowns and rushed 5 times for 24 yards.

“Jacoby had a nice scrimmage and showed a lot,” Petrino said. “I was happy with him.

Petrino said it was “great” to have Walker go through spring practice.

“There’s no question that he’s ahead of the game,” Petrino said. “He’s a guy that’s very impressive to me. His demeanor, the way he carries himself, his confidence, his knowledge of the game, his drive.

“He’s got a lot of things you really look for in a special quarterback.”

Davis - a sophomore who twice has come back from surgery for a broken right ankle - broke his collarbone in the first half of the Red-White game when he was tackled by safety Tramain Thomas after gaining 18 yards on a draw. Davis rushed six times for 49 yards.

It’s the same injury suffered last season by Arkansas receivers Lucas Miller and London Crawford, and normal rehab time is about a month.

“It’s unfortunate, because Knile was playing real well, running the ball real well,” Petrino said. “It just happened on the play where Tramain landed right on top of him, and both of them landed on his left shoulder.”

Petrino said the good news is that Davis should be ready to go full speed by June 1 for summer workouts.

Mallett and Wright, who each underwent surgery for a broken left foot, also should be full speed in a few more weeks.

“They’re doing very, very well,” Petrino said. “We’re going to be a little bit conservative with it and they’ll continue to run in the pool here for two weeks.

“Then they should be out, and by June they both should be full speed and ready to go.”

Mallett and Wright wore walking boots this spring, though Mallett’s foot drew much more attention considering he set or matched 16 school records last season, when he passed for 3,624 yards and 30 touchdowns.

Despite wearing the boot, Mallett still took part in some individual drills and Petrino said he continued to improve as a quarterback.

Petrino said Mallett also did a good job of following his doctor’s orders about continuing to use to his crutches as long as prescribed and not cheating by trying to put his weight on his foot too soon.

“The only time I saw him get a little bit antsy is when we started letting him throw the ball,” Petrino said. “And then of course, he wanted to make sure every pass was perfect and stepped into the ball.

“There was one day he really wanted to do it the right way, and I just had to say, ‘Hey, Ryan, settle down a little bit here now. Just keep working your wrist and your arm and everything will be fine.’

“I’ve been very happy with the way Ryan’s handled it. It’s not easy for him.

“He’s as competitive as anybody on our football team, so not being able to be out there Saturday night when the lights went on and the crowd’s there is hard for him.”

Mallett and Wright were supposed to use their crutches for four weeks after surgery, but Petrino took an even more cautious approach.

“It actually ended up being five weeks, because when the fourth week was to hit, it just happened to be spring break,” Petrino said. “So instead of taking any chances with Ryan and Tenarius ... for spring break, we sent them home in a cast.”