FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson returned to practice Monday.
The junior and second-year team captain traveled to Starkville, Miss., last Saturday but did not participate in the Razorbacks’ 40-17 loss to Mississippi State.
Jefferson had started 18 consecutive games before a sack and a blow to the helmet against Alabama on Oct. 1 put him in concussion protocols.
The only protocol restriction on the 6-3, 242-pounder for Monday was no contact, Coach Sam Pittman said, and the Razorbacks do not allow their quarterbacks to be hit anyway.
Jefferson resumed his regular place at the front of the quarterback drill lines and was throwing passes and taking part in footwork drills during the media viewing portion of the workout inside the Walker Pavilion.
Health updates
Defensive backs Myles Slusher, Jayden Johnson and Khari Johnson are all in various stages of recovery from injuries and are questionable or doubtful for Saturday’s game at BYU.
Slusher’s calf muscles were an issue in a 49-26 loss to Alabama two weeks ago, and he did not travel to last week’s game at Mississippi State. Both Johnsons, who are not related, came out of last week’s game with undisclosed injuries.
Coach Sam Pittman said Khari Johnson would not be at practice Monday and he wasn’t sure if any of the three would be back by Wednesday, the normal cut-off day for injured players to practice to be included in game planning.
“I don’t know that Khari will be available,” Pittman said. “Jayden could be. We’re not going to practice him today. Khari probably not. Jayden, I don’t know. We’re holding him today.”
Pittman said he talked to Slusher on Monday.
“I thought he would be a little bit further along yesterday, to be perfectly honest with you, than what he was,” he said. “
Cougar concerns
Though BYU is not in a bind like Arkansas with injuries, the Cougars do have several concerns, in addition to quarterback Jaren Hall’s shoulder, which is not 100%.
Receiver Gunner Romney left Saturday’s 28-20 loss to Notre Dame early in the fourth quarter, was taken to the locker room and did not return.
Additionally, defensive lineman Gabe Summers left the game early and running back Miles Davis missed the game with a lower leg injury, per the Deseret News of Salt Lake City. Defensive players Malik Moore, Josh Larsen and Jakob Robinson also did not play in Saturday’s game.
Homecoming foe
For the second week in a row, the Razorbacks will serve as a homecoming opponent.
Mississippi State gave the Razorbacks rough treatment in Saturday’s 40-17 loss, which included homecoming festivities for the Bulldogs.
The Cougars also have special plans for homecoming, with a “white out,” including the home jerseys, scheduled for the game at LaVell Edwards Stadium, the 63,470-seat home venue for BYU. The Razorbacks will wear red uniforms on the road to accommodate BYU’s request to wear their whites.
BYU is scheduled to wear special hand-painted royal blue helmets with their all-white uniforms trimmed in royal blue. The helmet will feature a hand-drawn cougar on one side and the Wasatch mountains on the other, along with BYU’s primary “Y” logo.
The all-white look comes a week after the Cougars wore all-back uniforms and helmets in their 28-20 loss to Notre Dame in Las Vegas.
More movement
The Arkansas coaching staff is trying various ways of shoring up its situation at defensive back with a rash of injuries to key contributors.
Last week, freshman receiver Sam Mbake worked as a second team cornerback, though he did not play on defense against Mississippi State.
On Monday, Coach Sam Pittman said he asked quarterback Malik Hornsby if he wanted to try cornerback, but the redshirt sophomore said he wanted to stay at quarterback.
At Monday’s practice, freshman receiver Quincey McAdoo was sporting a new jersey number (24) and working with the defensive backs as well. McAdoo, who was out last week, was also sporting a heavy wrap on one of his wrists.
The permanence of the moves of the young receivers to defensive back is up in the air, but the need for reinforcements in the secondary for now is real.
Sitake's birthday
BYU Coach Kalani Sitake celebrated his 47th birthday Monday. He was born on Oct. 10, 1975, at Nuku’alofa, Tonga.
Sitake was raised in Hawaii, where his family moved, and attended high school in Kirkwood, Mo. He played fullback at BYU and was a team captain as a senior in 2000.
Sitake signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as a free agent in 2001, but his playing career ended due to a back injury. He became a graduate assistant at BYU in 2002 and returned to his alma mater as head coach for in 2016 after serving as an assistant at Southern Utah, Utah and Oregon State.
Sitake has a 52-31 record with the Cougars in his seventh season. He was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award the past two years, when BYU finished 11-1 and 10-3.
Sitake is the first FBS head coach of Tongan descent, according to his BYU bio.
Punter switch
Reid Bauer, the Razorbacks’ regular punter all of 2021 and much of 2020 and 2018, appears to be back in the saddle after freshman Max Fletcher struggled to find consistency.
Bauer had three punts for a 46.3-yard average last week at Mississippi State after replacing Fletcher, who had one punt for 25 yards.
Fletcher has not gotten off to hot starts in games, though he has occasionally gotten his foot into a few, with a long punt of 51 yards, and has not consistently pinned opponents inside the 10-yard line when given chances. He is averaging 38.3 yards on 27 punts, with 7 inside the 20, 3 of 50-plus yards, 9 fair catches and 1 touchback.
“We had struggled a little bit early in games punting the ball, and it had been a little bit of a consistent pattern,” Coach Sam Pittman said. “And we talked about it before the game, and obviously, after the Alabama game. You know, some people perform different in games than what they do in practice.
“There’s nothing wrong with Max. Max is a good punter. He had difficulty with the first punt and we knew if that was the case that Reid would go in there because Reid did a nice job for us last year. So yeah, we’ll stay with Reid as long as he’s doing a nice job.”
Bauer, last year’s winner of the Pete Mortell Award as the nation’s top holder, averaged 43.3 yards per punt in 2021, 43.5 in 2020 and 38.9 as a freshman in 2018.
No tips
The Arkansas defense created a handful of interception opportunities but could not come down with one against Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers on Saturday.
In addition to getting their hands on three or four passes, the Bulldogs also tipped up a couple that had the possibility of being intercepted.
“We had three great ones and we just didn’t get it done,” Coach Sam Pittman said. “That and not converting the short-yardage plays made a big difference in the game.
“Even as bad as we were playing, it could have maybe sparked us or something of that nature and certainly would have kept points off the board.”