FAYETTEVILLE -- Rakeem Boyd is invested emotionally in the Arkansas Razorbacks this season.
His position coach, University of Arkansas assistant head coach Jeff Traylor, pulled back the curtain a little on Boyd's commitment during post-practice interviews Wednesday.
Boyd has been wearing a green (no-contact) jersey in practice this week, but only because the running backs coach Traylor has made him.
"He did not want to be in green today," Traylor said. "I made him be in green. He was mad that I wouldn't let him go in the live part."
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Traylor said Boyd has matured both on and off the field since his first season in the program last year.
"He wants to be coached now," Traylor said. "He doesn't take it as a personal attack. He really wants to be fantastic. He wants to win. He's not about his stats, he wants to win the ballgame.
"He wouldn't want me to tell y'all this, but he's been in tears three times [after losses]. I mean, like, he put it out there. He's played injured, he's practiced through, he's never taken a rep off in practice."
Traylor also touted Boyd's much-improved pass protection.
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Injury update
Coach Chad Morris updated injuries on a few Razorbacks on Wednesday, including defensive tackle McTelvin "Sosa" Agim, center Ty Clary and receiver Mike Woods.
Agim is giving a knee issue some rest this week and was not visible at Wednesday's indoor practice.
"I anticipate Sosa being back and ready to go for next Saturday night," Morris said on Wednesday's SEC teleconference. "I anticipate him back in practice possibly Thursday ... but we'll see how he feels. Then get him back in for next week."
Clary is going through concussion protocol, adding to the growing list of Razorbacks who have done that this season. The other players known to have engaged in concussion protocol are, in chronological order: Hudson Henry, Isaiah Nichols, T.J. Hammonds, Colton Jackson, Treylon Burks, De'Vion Warren and Chase Hayden.
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Woods is dealing with a hip injury, the same ailment that has slowed receiver Trey Knox since the Ole Miss game on Sept. 7 and kept him out last week.
Morris said Knox, Woods, Agim and Clary were in yellow (out) jerseys. Morris said he anticipates Knox and Woods to return to action soon.
Offensive line coach Dustin Fry said he expects Clary to be ready next week.
Gang green
Tailback Rakeem Boyd; tight end Cheyenne "C.J." O'Grady; defensive ends Gabe Richardson and Zach Williams; and receivers Jordan Jones and De'Vion Warren remained in green (no-contact) jerseys for Wednesday's practice inside the Walker Pavilion.
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"We had guys in green [Tuesday], some of our high-rep guys," Coach Chad Morris said. "C.J. O'Grady, Rakeem Boyd were in green with just some nagging injuries from the wear and tear.
"Green means you're in full practice outside of any main good-on-good contact period. We don't want those guys getting hit, but they were in practice.
"It was good to see Zach Williams back into a green jersey and get him going. I anticipate him being back. It was more of making sure we get a chance this week to get our guys back healthy and as fresh and ready for this next run that we've got."
The Razorbacks will play on five consecutive Saturdays after resuming against Kentucky next week, followed by their second open date. They'll finish with games at LSU and against Missouri in Little Rock.
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Cunningham sat out
Offensive lineman Myron Cunningham, who started the first four games, didn't play against Texas A&M.
Cunningham started the first three games at right guard, then worked at left tackle against San Jose State when Colton Jackson sat out with a concussion.
Offensive line coach Dustin Fry said Cunningham was ready to play against the Aggies, but Jackson didn't want to come out of his return to the lineup.
"It was one of those games where the plan was to spell Colton," Fry said. "Colton is kind of a hard head a little bit -- 'I'm not coming out. I'm not coming out.' When a senior says he doesn't want to come out, I'm not going to take him out.
"A guy that knows the offense. He knows what we're trying to do. I'm not going to take him out of the game. I thought it was too close. Not that I don't have confidence in Myron. He's going to play a lot this coming week. It was just that I'm rolling with the guys I've got. He was definitely my sixth guy if anyone was going to come in."
Tough loss
Tight ends coach Barry Lunney Jr. didn't want to go into detail about what he said to senior Cheyenne "C.J." O'Grady as they walked off the field after the Texas A&M game.
O'Grady had eight catches for 91 yards, but he couldn't corral a fourth-down pass from Ben Hicks that also could have been intercepted by linebacker Buddy Johnson.
"That was really just kind of between him and I," Lunney said. "That was just time for a coach that's been with a guy for five years after a tough moment.
"He played his heart out. Just trying to encourage him and get him off the field. Tough loss. Obviously, seniors have a tendency to take those more difficult, more personal than others, because they know that's their last chance they're going to be in that stadium. I was encouraging him."
Open date, loss
Five of the Razorbacks' first six opponents will have come off either an open date or a loss, or both.
That will be the case Oct. 12 at Kentucky (2-3, 0-3), which also has a bye this week after a 24-7 road loss to South Carolina last week.
Ole Miss was coming off a 15-10 loss to Memphis in the season opener before downing the Hogs 31-17. Texas A&M had lost 28-20 to No. 8 Auburn the week before slipping past Arkansas 31-27.
Portland State had lost to Eastern Washington 74-23 in last year's finale before falling 20-13 to the Razorbacks in the season opener.
San Jose State had an open week after a 34-16 home loss to Tulsa before shocking the Hogs 31-24 two weeks ago.
Only Colorado State, coming off a 38-13 rout of Western Illinois, had won the week prior to taking on Arkansas. The Razorbacks turned in perhaps their best performance of the year in that game, winning 55-34 behind a 21-point fourth quarter.
Touting ponies
Second-year Arkansas Coach Chad Morris, who guided SMU from 2015-17, was asked on Wednesday's SEC teleconference whether he thought the Mustangs would ever be ranked again. SMU jumped into The Associated Press Top 25 poll at No. 24 after improving to 5-0 under Coach Sonny Dykes.
"When I got there, the circumstances were a little bit different," Morris said. "We took over a program that was 0-11, and won the last game after we got hired. I felt, as I mentioned as they hired me, that I felt it was gonna be a five-year flip."
SMU is ranked five years after Morris got the job, and for the first time since Oct. 25, 1986.
"We were recruiting kids and selling a vision," Morris said. "We couldn't sell success there, we could sell previous success at other spots. We had to sell a vision, and that's what we did.
"And we went to work and we recruited. And it's great to see those kids really that bought into that vision having the success they're having."
Sports on 10/03/2019