HawgBeat - Arkansas Football 2024 Spring Preview: Running Back
HawgBeat previews the Arkansas Razorbacks running back room ahead of spring practice ramping up in a couple weeks.
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With Arkansas' spring football practice just around the corner, HawgBeat continues our series of previewing positions for the 2024 Razorbacks.
According to HawgBeat's calculations, head coach Sam Pittman and the Hogs currently sit with 84 scholarship players going into spring ball, which leaves one open spot to fill when the transfer portal opens back up in April.
The running back room has a much different look entering 2024 spring drills than it did in 2023. Gone is former All-SEC tailback Rocket Sanders and speedster AJ Green, but the Hogs added some highly-touted newcomers for first-year offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino.
Head coach Sam Pittman's team will have five scholarship players in the running back room this spring. Running backs coach Jimmy Smith has three returners — Dominique Johnson, Rashod Dubinion and Isaiah Augustave — to go along with Utah transfer Ja'Quinden Jackson and incoming four-star freshman Braylen Russell.
Replacing the production of Green and Sanders — 521 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns combined in 2023 — doesn't seem super daunting just based on last year's numbers, but Sanders battled injuries all year and Green could never emerge as a go-to back. Just one season prior, that duo combined for 1,857 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns in 2022.
Johnson is a veteran who has torn his ACL twice in the past two seasons, Dubinion tore his meniscus on Nov. 18 against FIU and Augustave has just 35 carries as a college running back. The opportunity to become the first-string running back really seems up in the air entering the spring.
Returning: Dominique Johnson (Redshirt Senior), Rashod Dubinion (Junior), Isaiah Augustave (Sophomore)
Newcomers: Ja'Quinden Jackson (Utah transfer), Braylen Russell (freshman)
Walk-ons: Jezreel Bachert (Redshirt Sophomore), Emmanuel Crawford (Redshirt Freshman)
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