Offensive Line Depth Takes Hit with Injuries to Linemen
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas coach Sam Pittman announced during his opening press conference of the spring that true freshman Zuri Madison will miss the 2024 season due to an ACL injury. They will also be without Amaury Wiggins, but that's not expected to be a big deal.
Madison, a consensus 3-star prospect out of Lexington, Ky., signed with the Razorbacks over Miami, Kentucky and West Virginia among others. Maybe the most frustrating thing was his injury was off the field and not even working out.
"Zuri Madison had a scooter and tore his ACL," Pittman said. "That was two or three days ago. He just hit a curb and put his leg out straight and the ACL couldn't handle the pressure."
The 6-3, 298-pound lineman possesses tremendous size of a typical Pittman offensive lineman. Madison likely wouldn't have played much this season as a true freshman. An emphasis put on adding experienced linemen has given some of the younger players that saw playing time last season more time to develop. The Hogs' coach seemed bummed knowing he'll have to wait awhile to see what Madison has to offer.
"It's a shame," Pittman said of Madison's ACL tear. "He's a really talented guy. He'll use the injury to get stronger and bigger. "He'll be back and you know, an ACL injury takes awhile so he probably won't be back until the end of this season. Maybe get prepared in a bowl situation or come back next spring."
Wiggins, last year's backup center, signed with the Razorbacks out of junior college during the 2023 class. The 6-3, 308-pounder from Coffeyville Community College had a procedure during the offseason and is expected to miss some time.
"Wiggins had some cartilage trimmed, Pittman said. "I don't know if he'll be able to go Thursday or Friday. He may be back on Sunday."
Arkansas was already down one lineman with the departure of Andrew Chamblee from team activities this spring. That brings the Razorbacks to 10 healthy scholarship offensive linemen with practice starting Thursday.
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