Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said after the Razorbacks beat Auburn two weeks ago that true freshman running back Braylen Russell had earned more carries, and the four-star out of Benton made the most of that opportunity in the 19-14 win over the Tennessee Volunteers over the weekend.
Russell was the Hogs' leading rusher on the night, as he ran for 62 yards on eight carries. The most important carries came on Arkansas' final offensive drive, which featured two runs by the Benton High School product.
The first run was a 24-yard scamper that put the Hogs right on the edge of field goal range at the 22-yard line with the clock stopped at the two-minute timeout. One play later, Russell's number was called again and he powered through for another 11 yards on an inside zone play.
One play after that, backup quarterback Malachi Singleton — who was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday — pulled the ball from Russell on a read option and ran it in for what ended up being the game-winning touchdown.
Pittman was all smiles after the game, and said even if Tennessee didn't put up much fight to keep the Hogs out of the end zone at the end of that drive, as color commentator Kirk Herbstreit insinuated, he was proud of the effort by his true freshman running back. Russell chose the Razorbacks over the Volunteers in his recruitment out of high school.
"I thought it was great, especially when we were a little bit out of field goal range and he ran the inside zone," Pittman said. "He got moving, now, and he’s hard to stop. I don’t know if they let us score that last score or not. I don’t know ... But they did a good job and I was proud of Braylen."
Russell's first run on that final drive was the longest of his young college career, and gave the Arkansas offense, which had struggled for much of the night, a spark that helped set off a crowd-storming victory.
The 62 yards he rushed for under the lights against Tennessee are nearly three times more than his previous game-high, which was 23 yards in the season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Pittman said on the radio after the game the offensive line, which has been criticized by the fanbase heavily this season, deserves some credit as well for the way the running backs were able to break free.
"Let’s talk about the offensive line," Pittman said. "We talk about them a lot, so let’s talk positive about them tonight. They did a hell of a job opening holes for Braylen there at the end and they did a really good job all night of pass protection. Tennessee has got some really good players, too. I was really proud of the offensive line."
No one on the coaching staff has seemed surprised by the way Russell is progressing, as Pittman said a few weeks ago he expected the work load to increase for Russell.
"Anytime a guy that you haven't played a lot goes in and has early success, you play him a little bit more," Pittman told reporters Sept. 24. "I imagine his load per game will amp up a little bit more, but we just saw that he was practicing extremely well. We always have believed in him."
The Arkansas Razorbacks are in the midst of their first bye week of the season and will get a chance to rest ahead of a rivalry game with LSU on Oct. 19. Kickoff for that game will be at 6 p.m. CT and it will air on ESPN.
