The first availability report for Arkansas football's (3-2, 1-1 SEC) Week 6 matchup against the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers (4-0, 1-0 SEC) was released by the Southeastern Conference on Wednesday.
Introduced over the offseason, availability reports will be updated daily ahead of Arkansas' SEC-opener Saturday. The final update will be provided 90 minutes before kickoff.
According to the SEC, student-athletes will be designated as "available", "probable", "doubtful" or "out" for their next game. For additional clarity on game day, student-athletes will be designated as "available", "game time decision" or "out."
Below is the first availability report update of the week ahead of Arkansas' game against Tennessee, which will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville:
Arkansas vs. Tennessee - Availability Status
| Player, position | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Gameday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaylon Braxton, CB | Out | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Miguel Mitchell, DB | Out | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Rodney Hill, RB | Out | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Patrick Kutas, OL | Out | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Khafre Brown, WR | Out | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Andreas Paaske, TE | Doubtful | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Ty Washington, TE | Questionable | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Luke Hasz, TE | Questionable | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Hudson Clark, DB | Probable | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Monte Harrison, WR | Probable | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Notes:
~ Starting cornerback Jaylon Braxton has not played a snap for Arkansas since its Week 2 game at Oklahoma State. Pittman previously said that Braxton is dealing with tendonitis and a bone bruise, and it appears he's still dealing with injuries.
~ Safety Hudson Clark has also not played for the Razorbacks since Week 2, though Clark was a "game-time decision" ahead of the Texas A&M game last week. He is now listed as "probable" ahead of the Tennessee game.
"Well, I don’t feel great about Braxton, but I feel pretty good about Clark," Pittman said Monday. "(Clark) practiced last week. I believe he could have played if we really needed him to. I didn’t feel real confident with Clark. Not that he couldn’t play, I thought he was doing it more for the team than what his body physically could handle, and so we elected not to play him at that point. I think we just got to get his confidence that he can hit somebody, and I think he’s closer, obviously a lot closer than he was last week."
~ Pittman mentioned Monday that cornerback Kee'yon Stewart went down against Texas A&M because he was sick. He is not listed on the availability report, however.
~ As has been the case since the first availability report for Arkansas was released ahead of the Auburn game, offensive lineman Patrick Kutas and safety Miguel Mitchell are still listed as "out." Kutas received an MRI scan for his back Aug. 30, and no more details have been released for Mitchell's status this season.
~ An area of concern for Arkansas is the tight end position, a group that has taken a toll due to physical defensive lines, according to Pittman. Luke Hasz exited the Texas A&M game because of a pre-existing back issue, former Eastern Michigan transfer Andreas Paaske was in concussion protocol as of last week and Ty Washington was also banged up ahead of and during the Texas A&M game.
~ Wide receivers Khafre Brown and Monte Harrison missed the Texas A&M game due to undisclosed injuries. Brown is still listed as "out" while Harrison has been upgraded to "probable".
~ A notable addition to this week's availability report is running back Rodney Hill, who played just two snaps against the Aggies.
