Head coach Bobby Petrino acknowledged Tuesday that, while Davis has been medically cleared for the spring, there’s a chance the back will not participate in contact drills. That tack is likely a case of the staff understandably being overly cautious, however; Petrino said Davis ran a 4.33 40-yard dash this offseason, the fastest mark on the team. Still, “better safe than sorry” appears to be the immediate course of action.
“I haven’t decided yet as far as live tackling or anything like that, but everything else he’ll be full go,” Petrino said in quotes distributed by the school. “I think we’ll play that by ear and really keep an eye on whether he gets sore, how he’s running. I feel like he’s 100 percent. His testing has shown that he is, but we’ll still wait and see.”
While the staff doesn’t seem inclined to take many if any chances with the dynamic playmaker, the player himself has declared himself fully healthy.
“I’m feeling good,” Davis said. “I’m 100 percent, and I’m ready to ride.”
The Razorbacks open spring practice Wednesday.
Davis broke his left ankle during a camp scrimmage last August and missed all of the 2011 season. A return to full health for Davis is borderline imperative if the Razorbacks intend to get over the Alabama/LSU hump, the two SEC West programs that have handed UA five of its 10 losses the past three seasons.
In 2010, Davis led all SEC running backs in with 1,322 rushing yards and was fifth in rushing touchdowns with 13. Such a performance — despite the injury — will have Davis’ name littering many a preseason Heisman watch list.
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