TAT: Hines Out At Least Six Weeks

This article originally appeared on October 7, 2013 on The Arkansas Traveler website, uatrav.com.

Five players on the Arkansas football team suffered injuries in Saturday’s 30-10 loss at No. 18 Florida, but only one should miss playing time, head coach Bret Bielema said at his weekly Monday press conference.

Sophomore cornerback Will Hines broke his arm in the second half of the game and was carted off after his arm was put in an air cast.

His arm was set in Gainesville, Fla., Saturday night and he had surgery Sunday in Fayetteville, Bielema said.

Initially, it was thought that Hines would miss the rest of the season, as he tweeted Sunday, “Can’t believe my season ended this early.”

However, Bielema said that he should only miss six weeks if the recovery goes well.

“Will is a tremendous tweeter,” Bielema said. “I know he said his season was done, but he was informed today that there was a very good chance he could make it back for the last two regular season games.”

In his place, the Razorbacks will use a rotation of three players. Junior Carroll Washington is listed at the top of the depth chart, with freshmen D.J. Dean and Jared Collins listed as backups.

The only other player that could miss practice time because of an injury suffered against the Gators is senior center Travis Swanson.

Swanson suffered a slight MCL injury in the third quarter and did not return to the game. Although he was “a little tender” Sunday and might be held out of Tuesday’s practice, Bielema said he should be able to play Saturday.

Sophomore running back Jonathan Williams, freshman tight end Hunter Henry and sophomore quarterback Brandon Allen also suffered minor injuries Saturday, but all were able to return to the game.

Henry was hit on a bruise he has been battling since the Sept. 7 game against Samford and Williams was a “little banged up” during the Florida game, Bielema said. Both will play Saturday.

Junior AJ Derby played one series Saturday after Allen’s hand was stepped on, but Allen came back in and finished the game at quarterback. It was the first game action he missed since missing the entire Rutgers game with a shoulder injury suffered in the Southern Miss game.

“(Allen) is as good as he’s been since the (shoulder) injury,” Bielema said. “We have to protect him and do things better up front to make sure he doesn’t take any hits.”

The Razorbacks play No. 14 South Carolina in the Homecoming game Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:21 a.m. and the game will air nationally on SEC TV.