HARRISON — Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said running back Knile Davis is “100 percent and completely healed” nearly seven months after the fractured ankle he sustained last summer.
But is Davis ready for contact when the Razorbacks open spring drills Wednesday afternoon? That still hasn’t been determined.
Petrino spoke about Davis and the rest of his team two days before spring drills kicks off when he was the guest speaker at the Harrison Razorback Club meeting on Monday night. He said Davis will get plenty of work during the spring, but couldn’t say if he’ll see live contact.
“It’s a decision we’ll make of when is he ready mentally for it,” Petrino said. “That’s the key. “You need to get out there and move around and be with bodies around you and make sure that mentally you’re ready and focused for when you’re going to get hit. So I don’t know if we’ll do that this spring or wait until next fall. We really haven’t made a decision yet.”
But Davis sounded ready to go during a video interview that appeared on the athletic department’s website Monday.
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“I’m ready man,” Davis said. “I was telling (teammate) Dennis Johnson the other day I can’t wait to play a game. I’m tired of being in that weight room. I just want to get on the field.”
Petrino said there has been plenty of proof in Davis’ progress during the team’s pre-spring testing, which leads into spring practice. Davis already has set personal bests in a couple of categories, including a 40-yard dash time (4.33 seconds) he ran last week.
Petrino said it is the top time on the team.
“That was pretty fast,” Petrino said. “At 226 pounds, that’s moving.”
Davis, who chose to return to Arkansas after considering the NFL Draft as a junior earlier this winter, is expected to be a key component to Petrino’s offense in 2012. He rushed for 1,362 yards and 13 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2010 and earned preseason All-Southeastern Conference honors before suffering the injury.
Arkansas’ run game struggled without him, too, finishing ninth in the SEC (138.1 rushing yards a game). But Petrino said Wednesday he’s confident Davis will be back to form next fall and believes Arkansas’ run game will benefit.
“You certainly do have to run the ball,” Petrino said. “When you look at the difference between two years ago and this past season, running the ball for chunk plays and big yards is something we missed without Knile in there.”
Davis’ status was just one of topic covered during Petrino’s time in Harrison. In addition:
• Petrino said QB Tyler Wilson’s on-the-field goal this spring is to work on consistency in his footwork. Petrino added he wants Wilson to take better care of the football when he’s in the pocket or on the run, too. But Petrino said he doesn’t want Wilson to become too mechanical with coaching. “He does some things that, because of his instincts and his movement and releasing the ball at different release points that guys can’t do, he can do. So you have to be careful about not overcoaching him too.”
• Backup QB Brandon Mitchell should be “ready to go” when spring practice begins. Mitchell attended as many early morning workouts as possible while playing for the basketball team. In fact, Petrino joked Mitchell was definitely there the night after his highlight-reel dunk against Ole Miss. “We kind of gave him a bad time about that,” Petrino said. “’You haven’t been here for a while now you get on TV and you show up just so everyone can see you.’”
• Petrino said he is a fan of Arkansas’ permanent SEC opponent changing from South Carolina to Missouri. He was asked about the change, which was discussed earlier this month during SEC athletic directors meeting, and said “I’m all for it. I think it would only make sense they become our team that you play every year. … We need another rival.”
• Petrino said the first couple of spring practices will be open to the public. So will the scrimmages. The complete schedule of practices will not be released until today.