D-Mac's Rushing Marks Probably Safe for Another Year

Darren McFadden "couldn't have fathomed" how bad Razorbacks rushing this year

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Fans apparently aren't the only ones that find it strange Arkansas suddenly doesn't have a running game. Hall of Famer Darren McFadden "couldn't have fathomed" they would have been so non-productive this year. He's not the only one.

"You would never have even thought something like that coming into the season," McFadden said on The Buzz 103.7's Morning Mayhem with David Bazzel, Justin Moore, Roger Scott and RJ Hawk. "I would've went out on a limb and said we probably would've had two guys close to 1,000 yards this year. I don't see it happening at this point. If it was to happen, it would be a heck of a miracle."

That was what everybody thought with Raheim "Rocket" Sanders, AJ Green and Rashod Dubinion. Sanders has only played in three games this year with a knee injury and is expected to be back against Florida on Saturday, but nobody knows how much. Green had all but disappeared and Dubinion is the leading rusher with 260 yards.

D-Mac had more than that in a single game a few times. It's been a source of frustration for everybody and already cost offensive coordinator Dan Enos a job. Fans are hoping Kenny Guiton taking over can get it going again, but that remains to be seen. Quarterback KJ Jefferson has been the only consistent ground-gainer and you don't want him to be the leading rusher. Sanders' getting back on the field probably isn't going to be the huge change everybody is hoping to see.

"It's great to have him back out there," McFadden said. "I hope he's healthy enough and well enough to play. I'm sure his teammates sure missed him out there. The coaching staff missed him. It'll be great to see him out there and just have him out there running the football. Hopefully we'll get something going this week."

You'll notice there he wasn't predicting any sort of big return game. He had a couple of injuries and those first games back can be a little tricky at times. Sam Pittman is doing his part to keep things positive, but you wonder how much longer that can continue.

"For me as a player, you feed off a lot of the coach's energy," McFadden said. "If a coach is bringing great energy out there, I think that just kind of trickles down on the players. When you're around a coach that's I guess more laid back, or not as intense about the game or however you want to call it, that trickles down on the players. I think a lot of that showed this year when you see the offense out there on the field.

"Having a guy that's just intense and brings the energy. It doesn't have to be a get-in-your-face type of guy, but when guys are making good plays in practice, you're cheering them on. You have your team, you have your guys celebrating for him. Coaches like that, you really want to go out there and play hard for them and put it on the line for them. I think the guys kind of feel that from Coach Guiton and I think that'll be something great for them."

The Hogs and Florida will play at 11 a.m. The Razorbacks probably love it (they'll be back in Fayetteville at a reasonable hour), and the Gators actually hate those early starts and it takes them a bit to get amped up in The Swamp. The game will be televised on ESPN2 and fuboTV. You can listen at HitThatLine.com and ESPN Arkansas across most of the state.