Razorbacks Made Questionable Personnel Decisions In Loss To Tennessee

FAYETTEVILLE — Braylen Russell's third and fourth carries of Saturday's game against No. 15 Tennessee were a nine-yard touchdown run and a 29-yard scamper on third down that was wiped out due to penalty. He did not get a fifth carry.

Cam Settles had eight carries for 50 yards, including a 27-yard burst on Arkansas' first drive of the second half that got the Hogs into Tennessee territory.

So naturally, it was Sutton Smith who had the most carries of any running back on the afternoon, toting the rock 11 times for 40 yards (3.6 YPC). Jasper Parker even got into the game and had a six-yard run.

Still, the Razorbacks mismanaged their dispersal of carries among its RBs on Saturday. Why Russell, who averaged 4.5 yards a carry and has clearly been Arkansas' No. 1 back this season, only had four carries is a mystery.

"We went to more empty packages, and we thought, you know, KJ had some balls batted down, and finding ways to get those out there," head coach Ryan Silverfield said. "And then the situations, right? Like when you find yourself down, you know Braylen has obviously been very effective in some of those short yardage, 12-personnel packages, and Cam did some good things, but you find yourself when you're going three-and-out.

"It's hard to - it limits how many touches they get. So I don't think at that point in the game in the fourth quarter, it truly mattered who was touching the ball as a ball carrier. It was just finding ways to stay ahead of sticks, and we weren't able to."

Arkansas Razorbacks running back Cam Settles (27) warms up before the game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Smith had carries of nine, six and 12 yards in the third quarter, but his final four carries went for -1, 4, 0 and 3 yards, respectively.

It's also a mystery as to why Arkansas went with more empty sets when Tennessee's defense kept KJ Jackson from getting into a rhythm. Jackson (15-27, 155 yards, 1 TD) didn't play poorly, but he never got into a groove, completing only three of his final eight passes. His last three throws on Arkansas' final drive were all incomplete.

Those personnel decisions were confusing in the moment and remain so hours after the game. Whether Arkansas learns from Saturday and lets Russell and Settles take on the brunt of the snaps and touches at RB moving forward remains to be seen.

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