ROGERS — Arkansas will be without at least two scholarship players when preseason practice begins Thursday.
Safety Montaric Brown and linebacker Alexy Jean-Baptiste are expected to miss several practices. Brown, a highly-recruited freshman from Ashdown, has yet to receive academic clearance, while Jean-Baptiste still is recovering from surgery to repair a broken foot in April.
Arkansas coach Bret Bielema indicated that the earliest Brown will be available to practice is after summer school ends Aug. 4, but could be closer to the fall semester that begins Aug. 21. The Razorbacks are scheduled to open the season Aug. 31 against Florida A&M at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
"Unfortunately, sometimes there is a little big of lag in the NCAA side as well, as you're dealing with a lot of paperwork and coursework," Bielema said of Brown's situation. "Getting everything in in a short amount of time, sometimes it just doesn't happen as fast as we want.
"We have a pretty strong DB class. It's not like a do or die situation for him to get here. I think we'll find out, just like we do with all freshmen, what can they handle mentally and physically, and if the answer is yes, then we'll go ahead (and play him). If not, we'll have a chance to redshirt him."
Jean-Baptiste "wasn't going to be where we needed him to be," Bielema said of his practice availability this week. He is likely to return to practice near the start of the fall semester, Bielema said.
Jean-Baptiste, who redshirted last season, was able to go through some spring practices before his foot surgery.
"I enjoyed working with Alexy when I had him in the (meeting) room," outside linebackers coach Chad Walker said. "He's really approached his rehab really well."
CORRECTION: This story previously listed the Razorbacks' season opener as Aug. 30. It has been changed to reflect the correct Aug. 31 start date.