One of the primary goals during fall camp scrimmages is to get out of them without any injuries and Arkansas was unable to do that during its first scrimmage of fall camp Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
The scrimmage was closed off to the media and fans, but head coach Sam Pittman met with reporters afterwards to talk about how things went. While there was plenty of good that happened, two players battling for starting spots were unable to finish the scrimmage.
“We did have a couple guys get banged up out there with Sam Mbake and Nathan Bax,” Pittman said. “At this time, I don’t know the extent of either one of their injuries, but they did get injured and were unable to come back to the scrimmage.”
Mbake is a sophomore wide receiver who has seen reps with the first team offense during the 11-on-11 fastball periods in the first seven practices of fall camp. Pittman even spoke very highly of the Kennesaw, Georgia, native on Thursday.
“Mbake is a wonderful person and he plays 90 miles per hour all the time and it’s important to him,” Pittman said. “He has improved in every aspect of his game — speed, strength, awareness of what he’s doing. Mbake will be on the field as much as anybody this year. I really like the kid. He’s an awful hard worker.”
Pittman was unsure of what the injuries were or how serious they would be for both Mbake and Bax, who is battling for a starting tight end spot. Bax has worked in with the first team offense in practice and he’s a super senior that provides plenty of leadership to the tight end room.
“I tell you, Nathan Bax had a really good offseason,” strength and conditioning coach Ben Sowders said on Aug. 4. “His weight didn’t change, but his body type changed. He lost about three or four percent body fat, so leaner muscle, moving better, ability is better.”
The Razorbacks also had some potential starters who did not participate in the scrimmage. Most notably, redshirt sophomore linebacker Chris “Pooh” Paul Jr., redshirt senior defensive tackle Anthony “Tank” Booker Jr. and redshirt sophomore left tackle Devon Manuel did not participate.
Pittman first described Paul’s injury as an ankle and then clarified that it is a “slight MCL.” On Thursday, Pittman said Booker’s injury was “a little bit of a knee” and we saw Booker participating at practice Friday.
The good thing is, it seems that both Paul and Booker would be able to play if it was an actual gameday. Pittman even said Paul would’ve played if it was a real game.
Manuel’s injury remains undisclosed, though it doesn’t seem to be anything serious. Redshirt freshman Andrew Chamblee filled in at the left tackle spot during the scrimmage.
“Devon Manuel did not play today,” Pittman said. “He’s out for maybe another two, three, four days. Something like that. Our pass protection — obviously Chamblee stepped in and did a nice job — but they have some pretty good pass rushers over there. We have to get better there.”
While the severity of Mbake and Bax’s injuries are unknown, the players who sat out just seem to be precautionary situations. Arkansas will get Sunday off before returning to the practice field Monday. Stay tuned to HawgBeat’s premium message board, The Trough, for the latest updates from Arkansas fall camp.
