CBS Sports reporter and UA alumnus Brandon Marcello was the only member of the media at Arkansas’ Aug. 22 scrimmage, and his report surfaced a few injury notes the program had not previously disclosed.
Among the most notable holdouts was running back Cam Settles, who is expected to be Arkansas’ RB3 this season. Marcello reported that Settles was in a boot and did not participate, though Sutton Smith, who had previously dealt with a lower-body injury, was on the field. Settles had already missed some practice time, but the full extent of the issue had not been made public.
The defensive line also took hits in that second scrimmage. Sophomore Keiundre Johnson did not play, and Marcello indicated he is likely to remain out until the end of September.
He wrote that Johnson was "running on an antigravity treadmill in rehab, with the staff hoping to have him back on the ground within two weeks and in a game around Oct. 1."
If that timeline holds, Arkansas’ Oct. 3 trip to Texas A&M would be the first possible chance for him to play. Johnson appeared in only one game last season as a redshirt freshman and is not expected to have a major role this fall.
Fellow defensive lineman Quincy Rhodes Jr., one of the more important returning pieces on the Arkansas defense, also sat out the scrimmage. Any injury issue there would matter, because Rhodes is expected to be one of the team’s top defenders this season.
The North Little Rock native posted eight sacks for Arkansas in 2025 and, along with KJ Jackson, announced his return during Silverfield’s introductory press conference on Dec. 4, 2025.
Those absences were not publicly acknowledged before, but Silverfield said Monday that the roster should be in good shape for Saturday’s opener against North Alabama outside of the season-ending injuries to J'Lynn Allen, Maddox Lassiter and Connor Smith.
"Right now, the expectation is that everybody other than those season-ending injuries should be able to play," Silverfield said. "So knock on wood.
Right now, obviously today’s our off day. Looking clean, getting some guys back that were nicked up a little bit to full speed and have every expectation they should play on Saturday."
That would presumably include Settles and Rhodes, though Silverfield’s comments suggested those players were among the ones who had been "nicked up." If Arkansas handles North Alabama the way it is expected to, Rhodes likely won’t be asked to carry a heavy load anyway. Settles, meanwhile, along with Markeylin Batten and TJ Hodges, could still end up seeing plenty of snaps if the game gets lopsided.
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