FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas opens the football season Sept. 1 against a championship team from Alabama, but the Razorbacks’ opponent is defending Ohio Valley Conference co-champion Jacksonville State, not the defending national champion Crimson Tide.
So it’s worth asking: Should Arkansas tailback Knile Davis have any contact in preseason practice or use nonconference games against Jacksonville State and Sun Belt Conference member Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 8 to warm up for the SEC opener against Alabama on Sept. 15?
Davis was full speed in spring practice and ran the 40-yard dash in a team-best 4.33 seconds during offseason testing, but he didn’t take any contact after redshirting last season because of a broken left ankle he sustained in an August scrimmage.
Arkansas Coach John L. Smith was asked about the preseason practice plan for Davis when he spoke Wednesday night at the Northwest Arkansas Razorback Club. Smith said the coaching staff will discuss it, but that he believes Davis needs to have at least minimal contact before the opener.
“Coming back from an injury, it’s not all physical, a lot of it is here,” Smith said, pointing to his head. “A lot of it is mental, and particularly in the game of football. ‘Can I take a hit on that? Am I willing to take a hit on that? Do I have confidence enough that I’m going to take a hit on that?’
“So I think he’s going to have to have a hit or two. Now, maybe not three or four, but a hit or two, OK? I think he needs it for his sake in being as healthy and as good as he can be during the season.”
Davis, a fourth-year junior, said last month after spring practice that he wants to have some contact in preseason practice and he expects it.
“I doubt that I don’t get any contact in camp,” he said. “You need to get hit a little and get back the feel of it.”
By the time fall camp opens, it will have been a year since Davis last was hit on the football field.
“I know how to handle it,” Davis said. “I’ve been playing this game since I was 6 years old. It doesn’t change. It’s just football.”
Davis has a lot of experience coming back from injuries. He underwent two surgeries on his right ankle — one in high school and one after arriving at Arkansas — and had shoulder surgery before rushing for 1,322 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2010, when he earned All-SEC first-team status.
“If you get hurt, there’s an attitude that you have to take,” Davis said. “You can’t get too low. Knowing the process and how patient you have to be is definitely a big help.”
That attitude helped Davis stay focused in spring practice even while he watched whenever the Razorbacks scrimmaged.
“That was the coaches’ decision, and I was cool with that,” Davis said. “I was at practice every day working just like I was taking contact. I know it’s going to come sooner or later, so I wasn’t in a rush.”
Davis did get on the field for the first snap of the Red-White game, when he went in motion and ran a pass pattern, but he wasn’t involved in the play.
Offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said Davis “begged us” to get in the game.
“So we just put him in motion and told him to get out of the way, make sure nobody falls on you,” Petrino said. “At least he got in there for one play. It will be great to have him out there next year, back running and making plays for us.”
Davis joked that he tried to convince quarterback Tyler Wilson to audible to a running play.
“I was like, ‘Tyler, c’mon, give me the ball,’ ” Davis said.
Wilson knew better than to do that in the Red-White game, even with 45,250 fans in attendance.
“I think it was good for everybody to see, ‘Hey, Knile’s back,’ ” Wilson said. “We all know he’s going to play for us. He could have played in the spring if we wanted him in there, but we know it’s best that he waits until the fall.”
Davis said his main goal for the summer is to maintain conditioning.
“I want to stay in great shape, and it’s easy to get out of shape if you’re not careful,” Davis said. “One week can make a big difference, so you need to be consistent with everything you do — footwork, catching the ball, just keeping it like a second nature.
“That’s what you need to do all summer, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Sports, Pages 21 on 05/25/2012