Liberty Bowl: Razorbacks ready to roll in bowl

UA backs inspired by Smith

— It hit all of Arkansas’ running backs hard when Michael Smith’s senior season ended prematurely because of a hamstring injury.

“We learned so much from him. He was almost like having another coach,” sophomore Broderick Green said. “ He’s motivation for all of us in the bowl game. We’re dedicating it to him.

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“We want to show our love for him and make sure we step up our game.”

The Razorbacks have the depth at running back to perform well against East Carolina in today’s Liberty Bowl, even though they’ll be missing Smith, their leading rusher.

“We had a great running back group with Michael, and I think we still have a great one without Michael,” sophomore Dennis Johnson said. “We have a lot of guys that can play.”

Last season, Smith’s 1,072 rushing yards accounted for 78.7 percent of Arkansas’ final total of 1,362. This season, he had a team-high 396 rushing yards before sustaining a season-ending hamstring injury, but that’s 24.2 percent of the team’s 1,632 total.

Green has 392 rushing yards, followed by Johnson (321) and freshmen Ronnie Wingo (318) and Knile Davis (160). Green and Wingo also each have touchdown catches.

“They’re good enough to where the machine keeps rolling when different guys are out there,” East Carolina defensive coordinator Greg Hudson said.

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Arkansas running backs coach Tim Horton said Johnson is “the lead dog” when it comes to the depth chart, but Johnson, Green, Wingo and Davis all have started this season.

“I feel like we’ve kind of got four starting running backs,” Razorbacks Coach Bobby Petrino said. “A lot of times the guy that starts the game is determined by what play we pick, the personnel group we use.”

Green has become the team’s short-yardage specialist with 11 rushing touchdowns, but also set a school-record with a 99-yard run against Eastern Michigan.

Johnson, who is averaging 26 yards as a kickoff returner, showed he can carry the load against a quality opponent with 14 carries for 107 yards against Florida.

Wingo has big-play ability, running 62 yards for a touchdown against Texas A&M and turning a screen pass into an 83-yard touchdown play against Troy.

Davis’ four rushing touchdowns are second on the team, and he’s averaging 5.2 yards on 31 carries.

“We all can get the job done,” Wingo said. “We’re all young, too, so this experience we’ve gotten is really going to help for next year.”

Competition for playing time pushes all of the backs to play their best, Wingo said.

“The coaches are going to go with the hot hand,” he said. “So you’ve got to take advantage of each carry you get and try to get hot.”

It was announced before Arkansas’ 11th game - a 42-21 victory over Mississippi State - that Smith wouldn’t return this season.

“That was a heartbreaker for everybody,” Horton said. “Michael has gone above and beyond with everything he’s done, whether it’s playing or practicing, academics or summer lifting and conditioning.

“To not experience the senior year that you want him to is disappointing, but, at the same time, that’s life.

“You have got to overcome adversity and he will. He’ll move on to great things whether it’s on or off the field.”

Smith has been with the Razorbacks this week at the bowl site and will be on the sideline today.

Sports, Pages 19 on 01/02/2010

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