Sanders Reportedly Saying He's Hitting Portal from Razorbacks

In annual comings and goings, Hogs now likely down two key running backs

Author:
Andy Hodges
Updated:
Dec 6, 2023 7:50 AM EST
Original:
Dec 5, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Quit worrying about KJ Jefferson, Arkansas fans. There may be problems in more areas with running back Raheim "Rocket" Sanders reportedly going into the transfer portal. Ouch. On3.com's Riley McFerran put it out on X Tuesday:

Coming on the heels of fellow running back AJ Green leaving town, filling needs on the offensive side of the ball will keep new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino jumping and Sam Pittman piling up air miles. They've got to find replacements everywhere, but especially now on the offensive side of the ball.

After a season where he rushed for 1,433 yards in his sophomore season in 2022, Sanders was expected to be one of the catalysts for a team with questions in the preseason that never were able to be answers positively. A lot of it had to do with injuries. After being named to several preseason All-SEC lists it didn't last one complete game.

There are others, including Sam M'bake that have jumped into the portal along with a number of defensive players, including starting linebacker Chris "Pooh" Paul. Petrino may be finding himself having to round up more playmakers from scratch than he did when he took over as head coach in the 2008 recruiting cycle. Now he's just got to find similar talent and get it to town.

Rashod Dubinion will return as the most experienced and best running back on the roster along with newcomer Isaiah Augustave, who redshirted but showed enough in the last four games to get Razorback fans' attention with high hopes for the future.

This isn't anything new in the world of college football. Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel is leaving the Sooners after two years as the starter. This is going on just about everywhere that's not a playoff team.

The Hogs' biggest question mark on the team is awaiting a decision from quarterback KJ Jefferson on what he's planning to do. Nobody knows because nobody is saying a thing. In typical Jefferson fashion, he delays saying anything, keeping everybody waiting and then delivering a bunch of politically-correct statements. Nobody does a press conference to explain anything to anybody.

Lke we said at the top, don't worry about KJ's decision. After five years he's earned the right to come or go for whatever reason. It's some other guys folks might want to be paying attention to because they are just as vital.