FAYETTEVILLE -- University of Arkansas cornerback Jordon Curtis avoided a major injury but suffered a huge scare Sunday afternoon when he was hit by a vehicle in a pedestrian crosswalk outside of the Fred Smith Football Center.
Curtis, 19, was transported to Washington Regional Medical Center after being struck at 5:26 p.m. He was treated for cuts and bruises and released.
According to the incident report, Curtis was bleeding above his right eye but was alert and answering questions from the responding officer after being hit by a 2007 Hyundai Veracruz driven by Troy N. Johnson, 46, of Prairie Grove.
Johnson was driving south on Razorback Road before the intersection of Hotz Drive when he hit Curtis, a redshirt freshman from Jenks, Okla., according to the incident report.
A person with knowledge of the incident said Curtis was able to jump before the vehicle made contact and then smashed into the windshield. The windshield sustained damage that made it unsafe to drive, according to the report, so a tow truck was called to the scene.
Johnson was issued two citations -- failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and driving too fast for the conditions -- based on the report, but he was not arrested. He told the responding officer he tried to stop at the crosswalk but was unable to come to a stop, per the report. However, multiple witnesses were cited in the report as stating the driver never hit his brakes before hitting Curtis.
"We're very fortunate," said Arkansas Coach Chad Morris, who opened his Monday news conference by relaying the incident. "Our thoughts and prayers will be with him in his recovery."
Hot take
Chad Morris had a brief response when he was asked how Sunday's standard team meeting went after his displeasure with the effort of the team and coaching staff in Saturday's 52-6 loss at Mississippi State.
"We went through our normal team meeting and said what needed to be said," Morris said. "I think everybody agreed, and it's about how we respond. That's what it is. It's how are you going to respond. So we'll see today. We'll be on the field today."
The Razorbacks don't normally practice on Mondays, but they are this week due to playing Friday at Missouri in the 1:30 p.m. season finale.
No breaks
The Razorbacks appeared to be trending in the right direction in performances against Ole Miss and Tulsa before being outworked in a 45-31 loss to Vanderbilt, then laying an egg in the loss at Mississippi State.
Coach Chad Morris was asked about the frustration level for the Razorbacks since they seemed on the verge of getting over a hump before the blowout loss in Starkville, Miss.
"There is [frustration], no doubt," Morris said. "I firmly believe you create your own breaks, and we're not getting too many breaks right now. So you have to respond.
"What's our response going to be? We've got to get out of it. Does it get frustrating? ... Yeah, sure. But we have to continue to push forward."
Injury update
Arkansas defensive tackle Briston Guidry is out for the finale after undergoing follow-up knee surgery. Coach Chad Morris said he thought Guidry will face a recovery of several months.
Morris said he expected quarterback Cole Kelley, who missed the Mississippi State game due to an illness, to be back at practice Monday.
Crockett: I'll be ready
Missouri tailback Damarea Crockett, a junior from Little Rock Christian, said he'll play Friday against Arkansas after missing most of the Tigers' 50-17 victory at Tennessee on Saturday when he rolled his right ankle.
"It's just a little sore," Crockett told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Monday. "But it feels a ton better than it did when it first happened. I'll be ready to play on Friday."
Crockett, limited to three carries for 10 yards against Tennessee, has 147 carries for 709 yards and 7 touchdowns on the season.
Missouri tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, who was limited for Monday's practice, is considered questionable. A Mackey Award finalist, Okwuegbunam has missed the past two games due to a shoulder injury.
Receiver Richaud Floyd (concussion) is considered doubtful by Missouri Coach Barry Odom. Cornerback Adam Sparks (lower leg) is day to day after missing the past three games.
Lock honored
Missouri quarterback Drew Lock was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after completing 21 of 30 passes for 257 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Tigers' 50-17 victory at Tennessee.
It was the second player of the week award for Lock in the past three games. He also won it after Missouri won 38-17 at Florida and he completed 24 of 32 passes for 250 yards and 3 touchdowns without an interception.
For the season, Lock is 236-of-374 passing (63.1 percent) for 2,904 yards and 23 touchdowns with 8 interceptions.
De'Vion defense
Arkansas offensive coordinator Joe Craddock said the fact that quarterback Ty Storey was completely wide open on the reverse pass by De'Vion Warren against Mississippi State probably played a role in the low throw and incompletion.
The Razorbacks ran the play in the second quarter while trailing 17-0 on a second-and-3 call from the Mississippi State 39.
Warren took a pitch from Deon Stewart wheeling to his right through the backfield. Storey was unguarded when Warren, a quarterback at in high school, unleashed the low throw.
"In practice, it looked great," Craddock said. "He threw great balls in practice. I think in that situation, being an ex-quarterback myself, you see a guy that wide open and you don't want to miss him. I think De'Vion just kind of babied that throw a little bit because of how wide open Ty was.
"I think it kind of surprised him that he was going to be that open. In practice, he was a little bit more covered than that, honestly, and I think it just kind of surprised him."
Craddock said Warren was being tough on himself after the play, and that he sent the sophomore an encouraging text on Saturday night.
"Just trying to encourage him because I feel like he's going to be a really good player for us, and we've got to overcome the mental side of it and him tying to do too much and just play the game and have fun," Craddock said.
"I think he's a guy that tries to do everything the right way. He's a pleaser. He's a guy that wants to help us in any way he can, and I know at that moment he felt like he lost us the game on that throw. He'll come back and he'll keep working. That's the kind of kid he is and that's the mentality he has."
Ticket giveaway
Missouri Coach Barry Odom has made a number of tickets available for Friday's finale at Memorial Stadium against Arkansas.
Based on a Twitter post from the Missouri athletics department, the deadline to request the tickets is today at 5 p.m.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Missouri officials had taken orders for around 1,000 tickets at the $30 general admission price, which would run up a $30,000 tab for Odom.
"There's a lot of people focused on that," said Odom, who said he had no idea how many people had requested tickets. "I'm trying to get ready to go coach the game."
Wet Black Friday?
The weather forecast for Columbia, Mo., is calling for a game-day high of 47 degrees Friday, and the chance for rain is as high as 70 percent around the 1:30 p.m. kickoff time.
Sports on 11/20/2018