Arkansas is set to be without its top three running backs from the 2024 regular season when it faces Texas Tech in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 27 in Memphis.
Starter Ja'Quinden Jackson, a transfer from Utah, declared for the NFL Draft after rushing for 790 yards and 15 scores in his lone season with the Hogs.
Jackson will not play in the bowl, and it's unlikely that his backup — Rashod Dubinion — will player either. HawgBeat was told Monday that Dubinion is doubtful for the bowl game due to offseason knee surgery. Dubinion ran for 335 yards and two scores in eight games as a junior this season.
Four-star freshman Braylen Russell entered the transfer portal Sunday.
With position coach Kolby Smith's room depleted in scholarship numbers, he and offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino will look to lean on redshirt sophomore Rodney Hill in the backfield.
Hill spent his first two seasons at Florida State and the past spring at Florida A&M before transferring to Fayetteville. The 5-foot-10, 186-pound Statesboro (Ga.) native rushed 20 times for 104 yards and two touchdowns while also adding eight catches for 68 yards in nine games this season.
"Just a guy that gets it," quarterback Taylen Green said Tuesday. "He gets everything. He can catch passes out of the backfield and of course y’all have seen what he can do running. He’s stepped into like a leadership role off the bat."
Hill was also a weapon in the kick return game, as he returned four kickoffs for 82 yards, plus he had a kickoff return for a touchdown called back in the Nov. 23 win over Louisiana Tech.
"I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for him really just getting the spotlight," receiver Isaac TeSlaa said Tuesday of Hill. "You’ve seen what he can do at running back and even as a kick returner, obviously against La. Tech having that kick return for a touchdown that unfortunately got called back. But that dude is just a crazy athlete. Hands, routes, running the ball — he can do it all."
Sophomore Tyrell Reed Jr. will check in behind Hill at running back. Nicknamed "T-Bird," Reed transferred from Hutchinson Community College and he's appeared in just two games. He carried the ball five times for 28 yards and a touchdown in the Aug. 29 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and he also appeared in the Oct. 5 win over Tennessee.
"Bird has been doing a good job of stepping in his role too," Green said. "(Hill and Reed) both are like yin and yang, you know, they both are a two-punch crew. I’m excited to see what they’re going to do in the bowl game."
A 5-foot-10, 211-pound native of Topeka, Kansas, Reed played in all 11 games and rushed for 833 yards on 132 carries with 13 touchdowns for Hutchinson C.C. during the 2023 season.
Freshman Julius "JuJu" Pope, a four-star prospect out of Pope, Mississippi, is the only other scholarship running back on the roster right now. Pope was originally a linebacker, but moved to running back at some point during the season and he has not appeared in any games. Head coach Sam Pittman said in fall camp that Pope had a hamstring injury, but it's currently assumed that he's available for the bowl.
As a senior for South Panola High School in 2023, Pope ran 24 times for 129 rushing yards and three scores over two games. He ran 41 times for 490 yards and eight scores as a junior in high school, per his Arkansas bio.
"Our whole running back room, we’ve been ready for the moment," Hill said. "Julius, Tyrell Reed, we’ve all been doing pretty well and we’ve just been trying to take advantage of the opportunity that we got right now."
Arkansas and Texas Tech are set for a 6 p.m. CT kickoff on ESPN at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis on Dec. 27.
