Clark Lea Provides Injury Updates to Key Guys on Injury Report Ahead of Arkansas Game – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE — Vanderbilt football had a somewhat lengthy injury report Wednesday night when the SEC released its player availability report.
On top of the players Vanderbilt already knew was out, the Commodores listed safety Dontae Carter, EDGE Brian Allen Jr. and defensive lineman Hayden Bray as questionable while starting cornerback Martel Hight was listed as probable.
In his Thursday press conference, Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea provided an updated list of where things stand now 48 hours before the Commodores take on Arkansas Saturday night. One thing that is different from Wednesday night is the status of Carter. Lea has downgraded Carter to being doubtful to play this weekend.
“It was a practice injury. I think he’s going to be okay, just needs some time. We’ll see how it responds,” Lea said on Carter being doubtful. “He’s played a lot of football, he’s been super engaged. So physically, he’s able to do it.”
Allen Jr. and Bray are both still questionable going into the weekend due to what Lea called “lingering” injuries from the Ole Miss game. However, the positive news for both of them is that they were both able to practice today and Lea feels hopeful about how they are progressing throughout the week. Lea certainly is not ruling out either of them playing Saturday. The hope for both of them seems to be high.
With Hight, it seems like his probable status is nothing to worry about for Saturday. Lea said HIght is dealing with a maintenance thing, but he has been able to participate in practice this week.
Two players that Vanderbilt will not have Saturday again will be linebacker Jamison Curtis and cornerback Jaylin Lackey. Curtis has missed the last four games while Lackey has missed the last five games, both dealing with soft tissue injuries. But at last, Lea provided positive updates for Curtis and Lackey.
“Both have started land running, which is a positive sign. Lackey is close to being reintroduced in practice. Broadly, I would say targeting post-bye week for them. Don’t hold me to that just because I think this every week you’re just trying to see how they respond,” Lea said.
Curtis and Lackey are both valuable depth pieces for Vanderbilt’s defense. Curtis has the ability to give productive snaps behind Vanderbilt’s veteran linebacker trio while Lackey has the skill to do the same thing for Vanderbilt’s secondary.
Vanderbilt will also be missing backup quarterback Blaze Berlowitz, offensive lineman Mitchell Smith and wide receiver Kahden Smith Saturday. The Commodores have also lost defensive lineman Aaron Bryant and offensive lineman Gunner Givens for the season.
Vanderbilt may be a bit wounded going into Saturday, but it is a big game for the scope of the team’s season. The Commodores kickoff against the Razorbacks at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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