Practice Notes: Mitchell could be back Saturday

Defensive tackle Ernest Mitchell went under the knife Oct. 1, but it seems his knee surgery isn’t hobbling him too much. Mitchell took part in individual drills yesterday and “did a little bit more,” today at practice, UA head coach Bobby Petrino said.

Mitchell moved full speed in individual work yesterday, Petrino said. UA coaches even think Mitchell might play Saturday against Kentucky.

“There is no doubt he’ll be back,” Petrino said. “It’s just a matter of if it’s this week or not.”

The swelling on Mitchell’s knee will determine a lot in the next 24 hours. The good news is that he didn’t experience swelling yesterday after working out. He’ll see a trainer again tomorrow.

Mitchell had arthroscopic knee surgery in January, and swelling had previously been a problem for the lineman. He was limited in the preseason and Mitchell felt he was “90 percent” healthy with the knee on Aug. 27 before the surgery two weeks ago.

WATCH: Hogs getting pressure with defensive line

“Obviously it’s a huge shot for us to get him back,” defensive tackles coach Bobby Allen said.

In other injury news, DeMarcus Love is back to full strength after injuring an ankle during practice Oct. 2. Grant Cook, however, is still expected to start at strong side guard.

“The hardest thing for him was, when the ankle wasn’t feeling good, he’s such a competitor he got away from his technique and just wanted to maul people,” Petrino said. “That actually set him back more than just having the injury.”

Here are some other quick notes from today:

— UK tailback Derrick Locke is a very well known danger to Petrino, and the team is also hard at work preparing for true freshman Randall Cobb, who will probably line up at quarterback and receiver quite a bit Saturday in Lexington.

“We’ve got to make sure we can stop the quarterback runs,” Petrino said. “We are fortunate there is a lot of carryover from last week as far as what we are preparing for. I think the biggest difference is we might see more of Cobb at quarterback.”

— The UA coaching staff is still trying to work De’Anthony Curtis into the mix at tailback. Michael Smith ran the ball 35 times last week in his career game against the Tigers, and the small-bodied speedster is going to need a breather or two down the SEC stretch.

“I think it would be good if we could get him to halftime with 12 or 13 carries and get De’Anthony and (Dennis Johnson) going and get them the ball some,” Petrino said. “I think that would help us a lot in finishing the game.”

“But,” Petrino laughed, “maybe I’m wrong. He did break that 63-yarder in the fourth quarter. Maybe he needs more.”

– Brandon Marcello
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Filed under: Arkansas Football, SEC Football by Brandon Marcello. Posted on: October 15, 2008 at 6:30 pm