Arkansas suffered its first major injury of preseason camp on Wednesday morning when tight end Chris Gragg had to be carted off with a severe ankle injury.

  Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said he believes Gragg dislocated his left ankle and will likely need season-ending surgery. The sophomore’s injury leaves the Razorbacks thin at tight end while starter D.J. Williams continues to miss practice with a minor ankle injury.

  ”I feel bad for him. He’s worked extremely hard,” Petrino said of Gragg. “I’m sure it’ll be a situation where he’ll have to have surgery and be out the year.”

  Arkansas athletic trainers rushed to Gragg after he suffered the injury midway through Wednesday’s practice. As he was being carted off the field, the tight end gave a thumbs up to the small crowd inside Reynolds Razorback Stadium that cheered for him.

  Williams has missed the past two practices after injuring his ankle Tuesday morning. Petrino said he didn’t known when Williams will be healthy enough to return to practice, adding that “hopefully” it will be soon.”

  With Williams and Gragg out, former Springdale High star Ben Cleveland got more reps at tight end. But Cleveland isn’t fully healthy, either. He said he was bothered Tuesday by a neck stinger, and he has battled a toe injury and nerve damage in his neck during his time with the Razorbacks.

  Arkansas has released the rosters for Saturday’s Red-White Game, which will cap spring practice. The Red team is composed mostly of first-team players, including tight end D.J. Williams, wide receivers Joe Adams and London Crawford and defensive linemen Malcolm Sheppard and Adrian Davis.

  Sophomore Ryan Mallett, who has the inside track on being named Arkansas’ starting quarterback, will also suit up for the Red team. Redshirt freshman Tyler Wilson will get snaps with both teams. 

  Along with Wilson, there are three other players whose names are listed in bold on the rosters, indicating they’ll get action with both the Red and White teams. Those players are free safety Tramain Thomas, linebacker Bret Harris and defensive end Damario Ambrose.

  There are a few players who were surprisingly on the roster. Running back Michael Smith, who has been sidelined for much of the spring while recovering from hamstring surgery, is listed on the Red team’s roster. So is wide receiver Lucas Miller, who’s recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

  Sophomore tailback Dennis Johnson, who has been hampered lately by a severely swollen foot, has been named to the Red team.  As expected, tight end Chris Gragg isn’t listed on either team as he tries to get over a high ankle sprain.

  To see the complete rosters for both teams, here is the link:

Just got home after spending the afternoon at practice. For spring football, it was kind of an informative day.

• First of all, the Razorbacks were wearing helmets, shoulder pads and shorts and guess who was with them? Running back Michael Smith. The senior got his first work of the spring today after missing three weeks because of his offseason hamstring surgery. He said it felt pretty good, but he’s not sure how much he’ll be able to practice the rest of the week. He will not play in the spring game, but he’s back and running anyway.

• Bobby Petrino filled us in on Brandon Barnett’s injury, which he suffered last Friday during the scrimmage. Barnett actually broke his tibia and underwent surgery to install a rod in it late Friday night. He is out of the hospital and doing well. In fact, Petrino believes Barnett could be back for practice in August. That’s good news for Barnett, who has had a difficult, difficult spring.

• Petrino was not happy with the practice today. If you were out there, you could tell. He was yelling quite a bit at his players. He thought three days off would’ve been good for the group and expected them to be crisp and sharp. That wasn’t the case and he let them know it.

• Running back Dennis Johnson was also back in some capacity Tuesday. He went through part of the workout (although he left the field for several minutes early on). Petrino said Johnson’s foot got sore on him and he didn’t finish full speed. His availability for the spring game is up in the air right now. We do know that tight end Chris Gragg, who missed practice again Tuesday, won’t play in the spring game. He is still in a boot after suffering a high ankle sprain.

• Oh yeah, one more thing. Ryan Mallett’s non-throwing shoulder is fine. He went through the entire practice today and afterward told Alex: “It’s just a little bruised up.”

  Not long ago, Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino wrapped up a 35-minute new conference in which he previewed the start of spring practice. He also addressed several issues that have come up lately.

  For starters, Petrino said that linebacker Ryan Powers is taking part in early morning workouts as punishment for his arrest earlier this month on a misdemeanor shoplifting charge. Petrino said Powers has been working out alongside quarterback Ryan Mallett, who was also given early morning workouts as punishment for his arrest last month for public intoxication.

  Petrino said he was disappointed in Mallett’s decision, adding that both arrests were a distraction to the team. Still, Petrino indicated that Mallett will take the first snap at quarterback when Arkansas opens spring practice on Tuesday.

  Several players have changed positions since the fall. Redshirt freshman Tenarius Wright has been moved from linebacker to defensive end. Petrino said the move might not be permanent, but Wright will work at defensive end at least during the spring to add depth to the position and because he has looked good there during practice.

  Meanwhile, junior Van Stumon – who has played practically every position but punter over the past few years – is on the move again. He’s listed as a tight end. So is sophomore Chris Gragg, who has bulked up to make the move from wide receiver.

  As for running back Broderick Green, Petrino said he hasn’t heard anything new about the USC transfer’s status. Green is hoping that the NCAA will rule him eligible for the fall, but Petrino said he doesn’t think Arkansas will get an answer on Green’s status until spring practice ends in mid-April.

Thursday’s practice has come and gone without much news.

As usual, Arkansas practiced for around an hour Thursday evening. Coach Bobby Petrino said wide receiver Lucas Miller has been ruled out for Saturday’s game at seventh-ranked Texas as he continues to battle a concussion suffered in last week’s loss to No. 8 Alabama.

Arkansas offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said earlier in the week that freshman Chris Gragg would get more playing time if Lucas is unavailable. Miller has proven to be a solid possession receiver for the Razorbacks, and he has some of the best hands on the team. So his absence will hurt Arkansas.

Other than that, not much else came out of practice. Petrino said the defense and quarterback Casey Dick have rebounded from their poor performances against Alabama to have a productive week of practice.

Well, that’s about it. Time to enjoy a night off and maybe watch USC play Oregon State. Or read a book.