HawgBeat - Pittman talks Dominique Johnson’s health
Sam Pittman provides an update for running back Dominique Johnson.
arkansas.rivals.com
Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman took the podium Wednesday morning at SEC Media Days, and he spoke on running back Dominique Johnson and the Arkansas running back room.
Johnson suffered a season-ending ACL injury during an October practice in 2022 after only playing in four games. He first tore his ACL in the Outback Bowl against Penn State at the end of the 2021 football season, the same season in which he ran for 575 yards and a team-best seven touchdowns. Johnson the differed the same fate during the 2022 season.
Pittman said Wednesday at the 2023 SEC Media Days that he thinks Johnson will be making his return in 2023.
"Dominique, he started the Outback Bowl for us, but he just never had the confidence to play much last year," Pittman said. "He's healthy, he'll be back."
The return of the Crowley, Texas, native would be huge for the Razorbacks. Adding another playmaker to an already loaded running back room will help the offense return to being one of the best rushing attacks in the country.
"I think we'll have a good running back room again," Pittman noted. "But the leader of that room is Rocket (Sanders) with AJ (Green) being right there with him."
With KJ Jefferson, Sanders, Johnson and Green all in the backfield in 2021, Arkansas led the SEC in rushing offense with 227.8 yards per game. Those four are set to play huge roles in 2023, and with the addition of sophomore Rashod Dubinion (293 rushing yards in 2022) and freshman Isaiah Augustave, expect the Razorbacks to compete for the rushing title again in 2023.
