By Otis Kirk

FAYETTEVILLE -- On Saturday, Sam Pittman was asked about the status of junior running back Dominique Johnson who didn't make the trip to Auburn.

Pittman asked the reporters to wait until Monday for him to address the issue. On Monday, Pittman went into full detail on Johnson.

"Thank you, I appreciate y'all understanding that," Pittman said. "I just didn't think it was quite the time and whoever asked the question, that wasn't I don't think out of anything other than why wasn't he on the trip, and I appreciate that. Last Tuesday or Monday, I believe it might have been Tuesday, he made a cut on air and tore his ACL again. So, it's really unfortunate for the team, certainly for him. He actually practiced the next day, and then he did not practice on Thursday and we found out Thursday. He went and got the MRI and we found that out. 

"It's certainly disheartening for him because he had worked so hard to try and get back. The silver lining, if there is one, and there is one, is you can use this as a redshirt year for him, and we've kind of approached it that way. By the time he got healthy, he would be ready for fall camp, which we certainly found that it didn't help him this year missing fall camp. So, we're going with all the positives out of certainly a negative situation."

It's the same knee that Johnson tore his ACL in against Penn State in the Outback Bowl. He missed all the offseason work and the early part of the season. Johnson never got untracked this fall. In four games, he carried eight times for 43 yards. 

In 2021, Johnson played in all 13 games starting six of them. He carried 97 times for 575 yards and seven touchdowns. He also caught seven passes for 71 yards and a touchdown. 

Two Hogs Honored

Running back Raheim "Rocket" Sanders was named the Co-SEC Offensive Player of the Week and punter Reid Bauer was SEC Special Teams Player of Week.

Sanders shared the honor with Georgia tight end Brock Bowers. Sanders finished with 16 carries for 171 yards in a 41-27 victory over Auburn Saturday. Sanders leads the SEC in rushing. He has 156 carries for 1,041 yards and seven touchdowns on the season. He also has 16 receptions for 195 yards and one touchdown.

Bauer punted three times against Auburn averaging 43 yards per punt to earn SEC Special Teams Player of Week. Bauer had a 78-yard punt in the game that backed Auburn up to its own 7-yard line. Bauer has punted seven times this season averaging 47.1 yards per punt with the 78 yarder his long. He has three that were inside the opponent's 20. On Monday Pittman talked about his players getting honored.

"I think anytime that you get national news on the good side it's always good for your program," Pittman said. "It means a lot to us. I think we went through a drought where nobody ever got anything, so it means a lot to us and it helps in recruiting. But, probably more importantly, it helps the kid with confidence, things of that nature. I'm happy that they both were able to get those awards."

Early Start For LSU

Arkansas and LSU will kickoff at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12. The game will be on either ESPN or CBS. Pittman talked about the early kickoff concerning recruiting.

"Yes. I was certainly hoping for a night game," Pittman said. "I will say this though. When we played South Carolina here at 11 a.m., our stadium was packed and loud. I’m not worried about the crowd. You didn’t ask about the crowd, but I’m saying I’m not worried about the crowd because we’ll be there. But it is concerning that man, if we had all day and had the kids at a night game we could get further-away kids. Yes, I’m a little disappointed in that but it is what it is."