Arkansas football will have its full starting backfield this weekend against No. 3 Texas.
On Wednesday’s SEC teleconference, head coach Sam Pittman announced that running back Ja’Quinden Jackson is healthy and set to return Saturday for the Razorbacks (5-4, 3-2 SEC).
Earlier this week, Pittman also announced the impending return of Taylen Green, and the quarterback will likely be listed as probable on Wednesday night’s SEC availability report. Both players are Texas natives who now get to face the Longhorns (8-1, 4-1) for the first time in their careers.
Jackson hasn’t played in the last two games with an ankle injury, and he was limited to five carries in the loss to LSU. He’s dealt with minor injuries all season that have eaten in to his snap counts in individual games.
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“(Jackson’s) healthy. He’s ready to go,” Pittman said. “He’s looked really good in practice and I expect him to go out there and play at full strength and full speed. It’s good to have him back.”
Braylen Russell replaced Jackson against Mississippi State and finished with 175 rushing yards, but the true freshman didn’t look full speed against Ole Miss and logged four carries in the blowout loss. Pittman indicated Monday that Russell will also be fine to face Texas.
Jackson leads Arkansas with 592 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the season, but he hasn’t crossed the 75-yard mark in SEC play.
However, there is some bad news on the injury front. Pittman doesn’t believe cornerback Jaylon Braxton will play against Texas after expressing optimism Monday that Braxton might return to practice this week.
Braxton has not played in the last seven games with a leg injury. The Razorbacks have especially missed their starting cornerback across the past three games, with opposing teams averaging 368.7 passing yards during that stretch.
