Football is a violent game, which is just another way of saying players get hurt. But some injuries hurt more than others – and not necessarily in a literal sense.

A backup defensive tackle is lost for the season? Teams generally can overcome that. But it’s a different situation entirely when a team potentially loses its starting quarterback (Missouri and James Franklin) or definitely loses a starting safety (Arizona and Adam Hall), especially when it happens during spring practice. (It’s the second year in a row Hall, a ferocious hitter, suffered a torn ACL in Arizona’s spring game.)

Injuries of that magnitude send coaching staffs scrambling to find fill-in players. Sometimes, those fill-in players do a great job; other times, coaches count the days until the injured starter returns.

Here’s a look at 11 players who missed at least 75 percent of the 2011 season because of injuries but are expected back in the fall.

All of these guys should contend for all-league honors, and a few could be All-Americans. Assuming, of course, they remain healthy.

By no means is this an all-inclusive list. And the players are listed alphabetically.

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Girl Soccer

Natalie Smith – Valley View

Kailey Nix – Jonesboro

Whitney Atkins – Westside

Caroline Vaughn – Nettleton

Kenyonna Brown – Paragould

Boys Soccer

Luke Ferguson – Jonesboro

Justin Parnell – Westside

Cole Walters – Valley View

Johnny Maldonado – Nettleton

Alec Ray - Valley View

Angel Fernandez – Jonesboro

Lane Campbell – Westside

Girls Golf

Olivia Loicana – Jonesboro

Sarah Childers – Valley View

Darah Merritt – Valley View

Lauren Roddy – BIC

Sarah Roddy – BIC

Ainsely Reece – Rivercrest

Boys Golf

Drake Merritt – Valley View

 Bubba Phillips – Marked Tree

Matt Loicano – Jonesboro

Martin Powell – EPC

Kyle Cook – Jonesboro

Softball

Sharon Bishop – Westside

Claire Clark – Wynne

Paula Chavers – Valley View

Hannah Walters – Trumann

Jordan Maynard – Brookland

Hannah Campbell – Nettleton

Girls Tennis

Kaily Nix – Jonesboro

Taylor Zane – Jonesboro

Anna Brickell – Riverside

Emily Metcalf – Valley View

Arielle Butler – Searcy

Boys Tennis

Austen McDaniel – Jonesboro

Drew Morgan – Jonesboro

Weston McDaniel – Jonesboro

Louden Eubanks – Ridgefield

Jacob Reeves – Ridgefield

Baseball

Dylan Clarke – Westside

Hunter Simpson – Nettleton

Alex Christian – Valley View

Nathan Maxwell – Trumann

Wes Watts – Jonesboro

Morgan Hawley – Marmaduke

Volleyball

Ali Thomas – Nettleton

Lindsey Killough – CRA

Katie Blackmore – Ridgefield

Maddy Belk – Brookland

Shelby Daniel – Valley View

Megan Mathis – Valley View

Nykia Keith – Jonesboro

Madison Tate – Westside

Girls Basketball

Brittany Fowler – BIC

Jennifer Townes – Nettleton

Hannah Willard – Bay

Dominique Brown – Rivercrest

Whitney Ball – EPC

Morgan Tripod – Paragould

Alytrius Perry – Marked Tree

Kaci Mack – Weiner

Carson Gill – Paragould

Brittany Ball – EPC

Boys Basketball

Jamar Sturdivant – EPC

Alan Buchanan – Marked Tree

Kahron Ross – Jonesboro

Tony Brewster – Valley View

Gunner Freeman – Bay

Malcolm Washington – Trumann

JT Notier – Westside

EJ Rucker – Newport

Football

AJ Turner – EPC

Martin Stafford – Jonesboro

Timmy Merten – Valley View

Sebastion Irvin – Hoxie

Corliss Marshall – Osceola

Autrey Allen – Earle

Dylan Hudson – Cross County

Boys Track & Field

Danny Moss – GCT

Carter Shelton – Valley View

Richard Young – Earle

Thomas Walton – Batesville

Michael Carr – Westside

Jamanuel Manning – Jonesboro

Girls Track & Field

Logan Bishop – Batesville

Macey Rodely – Jonesboro

Alex Petsova – Valley View

Ivery Guyton – Blytheville

Madison Laubach – GCT

Kristin Coffell – Hoxie

Male Swimmer

Nick Sciortini – Valley View

Troy Tanner – Valley View

Weston McDaniel – Jonesboro

Brady Brown – Jonesboro

Female Swimmer

Rachel Haynes – Valley View

Lilly Jones – Jonesboro

Caitlyn Cothern – Jonesboro

Micalah Beall – Rivercrest

Female Athlete

Claire Clark – Wynne

Nykia Keith – Jonesboro

Morgan Tripod – Paragould

Micalah Beall – Rivercrest

Male Athlete

AJ Turner – EPC

Autrey Allen – Earle

Luke Ferguson – Jonesboro

Coach

Margie McGhee – Valley View

Jay Cook – Paragould

Wes Swift – Jonesboro

Josh Hill – EPC

Team

EPC Boys Basketball

Earle Boys Basketball

Valley View Volleyball

Earle Boys Football

Jonesboro Boys Football

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FAYETTEVILLE,Ark.(AP) Bobby Petrino talked time and again about winning a national championship atArkansas. From the day he was hired in 2007, Petrino never wavered in that goal or belief.

Petrino won’t have that chance now, felled by scandal, and he blamed no one but himself for being fired.

”The simplest response I have is: I’m sorry,” he said. ”These two words seem very inadequate. But that is my heart.”

Athletic director Jeff Long dumped Petrino on Tuesday and laid out a stunning laundry list of misdeeds against the man he hired away from the Atlanta Falcons four years ago.

He ripped Petrino for hiring his mistress and for intentionally misleading him about the secret relationship that was laid bare following their April 1 motorcycle ride together that ended in a crash. He said Petrino missed multiple chances over the past 10 days to come clean about an affair that had crossed the line from infidelity into workplace favoritism.

”He made the decision, a conscious decision, to mislead the public on Tuesday, and in doing so negatively and adversely affected the reputation of the University of Arkansas and our football program,” Long said, choking up as he discussed telling players that their coach was gone. ”In short, coach Petrino engaged in a pattern of misleading and manipulative behavior designed to deceive me and members of the athletic staff, both before and after the motorcycle accident.”

The 51-year-old Petrino, a married father of four, maintained an inappropriate relationship with 25-year-old Jessica Dorrell for a ”significant” amount of time and at one point gave her $20,000, Long said.

Long would not disclose details of the payment, or when the money changed hands, but said both parties confirmed the ”gift.” Kevin Trainor, a spokesman for Long, said the money came from Petrino, not university funds.

Petrino issued a lengthy apology and said he was focused on trying to make amends to his family.

”All I have been able to think about is the number of people I’ve let down by making selfish decisions,” he said. ”I chose to engage in an improper relationship. I also made several poor decisions following the end of that relationship and in the aftermath of the accident. I accept full responsibility for what has happened.”

Dorrell, a former Razorbacks volleyball player, worked for the Razorbacks Foundation before she was hired by Petrino on March 28, four days before the accident on a rural road 20 miles outsideFayetteville. Long said she was one of three finalists out of 159 applicants and got the job after an unusually short time frame.

Petrino never disclosed his conflict of interest in hiring Dorrell or the payment and she clearly had an unfair advantage over the other candidates, Long said.

”Coach Petrino abused his authority when over the past few weeks he made a staff decision and personal choices that benefited himself and jeopardized the integrity of the football program,” Long said.

Petrino has builtArkansasinto a national power over four seasons, including a 21-5 record the past two years, and he was in the middle of a seven-year contract under which his salary averaged $3.53 million per year. A clause gave Long the right to suspend or fire the coach for conduct that ”negatively or adversely affects the reputation of the (university’s) athletics programs in any way.”

Long said Petrino was fired ”with cause” – meaning he will not receive the $18 million buyout detailed in the contract – and there were no discussions about ways to keep Petrino atArkansas. Long met with Petrino on Tuesday morning to inform him there were grounds for termination and that the coach was ”concerned” about that. Long sent Petrino a letter that afternoon to formally notify him he had been fired.

”I chose to do it in writing because that’s the terms of his contract,” he said.

Long declined to comment when asked about Dorrell’s job status. She was hired as the student-athlete development coordinator forArkansasfootball, paid $55,735 annually to organize on-campus recruiting visits for the team and assist with initial eligibility for each incoming player

She was ”at one point” engaged to Josh Morgan, the athletic department’s director of swimming and diving operations, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details have not been disclosed. The person said Morgan was still employed at the university.

Petrino finishes his tenure atArkansaswith a 34-17 record in four seasons, leading the Razorbacks to a No. 5 final ranking last season and a Cotton Bowl win overKansasState. With quarterback Tyler Wilson, running back Knile Davis and others coming back, there is talk of Arkansas challenging the two powerhouses in the SEC West, national champion Alabama and national runner-up LSU.

And maybe the Hogs will. But they won’t do it with Petrino.

The beginning of the end came on April 1, which Petrino at first described as a Sunday spent with his wife at an area lake.

Instead, he and Dorrell went for an evening ride and skidded off the road in an accident that left him with four broken ribs, a cracked vertebra in his neck and abrasions on his face. The avid motorcycle rider said the sun and wind caused him to lose control.

What he failed to mention, at a news conference two days later and to Long for two more days, was the presence of Dorrell other than a vague reference to ”a lady” who had flagged down a passing motorist. That changed when the state police released the accident report. Petrino, tipped off by the state trooper who usually provides security for him during the season, informed Long 20 minutes before the report was released, and he admitted to what he called a previous inappropriate relationship with Dorrell. Long put him on paid leave.

It didn’t get any better for Petrino. Audio of the 911 call reporting the accident revealed he and Dorrell didn’t want to police called following the crash, and a subsequent police report showed he asked if he was required to give the name of the passenger during the accident.

Petrino was forthcoming about Dorrell’s name and presence with investigators, but only after misleading both Long and the public during his news conference. The school even released a statement from Petrino’s family the day after the accident that said ”no other individuals” were involved.

The deception and the way Dorrell was hired were too much for Long.

”Our expectations of character and integrity in our employees can be no less than what we expect of our students,” Long said. ”No single individual is bigger than the team, the Razorback football program of theUniversityofArkansas.”

The coach’s tenure with the Razorbacks began under a cloud of second-guessing following his abrupt departure fromAtlanta13 games into the 2007 season.

Petrino left farewell notes in the lockers of theAtlantaplayers rather than telling them of his resignation in person. He was introduced later that night as the new coach of the Razorbacks, carrying with him a vagabond image after holding 15 jobs for 11 different programs/organizations in 24 seasons. He infamously met withAuburnofficials in 2003 to talk about taking the Tigers’ head coaching job while Tommy Tuberville still had it.

Yet he was welcomed inArkansasand took the school to its first BCS bowl game following the 2010 season, losing in the Sugar Bowl toOhioState. He improved his win total in every year.Arkansaswas 5-7 his first season in 2008, 8-5 the second before finishing 10-3 and 11-2 during his last two seasons.

In his statement, Petrino said he and his staff had leftArkansasin better shape and wished for its success.

”As a result of my personal mistakes, we will not get to finish our goal of building a championship program,” he said. ”My sole focus at this point is trying to repair the damage I’ve done to my family. They did not ask for any of this and deserve better. I am committed to being a better husband, father and human being as a result of this and will work each and every day to prove that to my family, friends and others.

”I love football. I love coaching. I of course hope I can find my way back to the profession I love. In the meantime, I will do everything I can to heal the wounds I have created.”

Assistant head coach Taver Johnson will continue to lead the program through spring practice, which ends with the school’s spring game on April 21. Long said he has asked the rest of the staff, including offensive coordinator Paul Petrino, Petrino’s brother, to remain at least through then.

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FAYETTEVILLE,Ark.(AP)—Bobby Petrino has improved every step of the way atArkansas—not just his team’s performance but his image.

The coach’s revelation Thursday of an inappropriate relationship and his attempt to cover it up now threatens to derail all the progress Petrino has made in four seasons.

Arkansasis expected to return to spring practice Friday afternoon, led by a pair of Heisman Trophy hopefuls in quarterback Tyler Wilson and running back Knile Davis.

The team will do so without Petrino, who was put on administrative leave Thursday night after athletic director Jeff Long learned Petrino had failed to disclose he had been riding with a female employee half his age when his motorcycle skidded off the road over the weekend.

Petrino said he had been concerned about protecting his family and keeping an “inappropriate relationship from becoming public.”

It was as stunning admission for a highly successful coach who prides himself on complete control and intense privacy in his personal life. Petrino will now await his fate while Long conducts a review.

Whether his uncertain status affects the Razorbacks remains to be seen.

“I will fully cooperate with the university throughout this process and my hope is to repair my relationships with my family, my athletic director, the Razorback Nation and remain the head coach of the Razorbacks,” he said in a statement issued by the university.

Long announced the decision to put Petrino on leave at a late-night news conference, one that was reminiscent of when the former Atlanta Falcons coach was hired by the Razorbacks on Dec. 11, 2007. Long said he had no timeline in determining Petrino’s future with the Razorbacks.

“I’m at the beginning of the review. I don’t know what I’m going to find,”Long said. “I am disappointed that coach Petrino did not share with me, when he had the opportunity to, the full extent of the accident and who was involved.”

Petrino just completed his fourth season with the Razorbacks, who have developed into a national contender under his watch—improving their win total each season. He’s 34-17 in four seasons at the school, 21-5 over the last two, and the Hogs finished last season ranked No. 5 after losing only to national championAlabamaand runner-up LSU.

He came toFayettevilleafter a 13-game stint with the Atlanta Falcons in 2007 season. He endured plenty of criticism on his way out ofAtlanta, from fans and former players alike, for leaving at midseason.

Before that he was atLouisville, guiding the Cardinals to a 41-9 record from 2003-07. When he left to take the NFL job, there were plenty of people who felt he departed in a less than admirable way and had been constantly eyeing other jobs while he was there.

He infamously met withAuburnofficials in 2003 to talk about taking the Tigers’ head coaching job while Tommy Tuberville still had it.

But Petrino was greeted as a savior byArkansasfans and has given them no reason not to admire and trust him since.

Until now.

Long said he didn’t hear about the passenger—25-year-old Jessica Dorrell, a formerArkansasvolleyball player and current football program employee—until Petrino called him Thursday afternoon, minutes before a police report was released disclosing her presence at the accident.

Assistant head coach and linebackers coach Taver Johnson has been put in charge of the program in Petrino’s absence. The formerOhioStateassistant coach was hired in January.

Long’s investigation could lead, based on conduct clauses in Petrino’s contract, to a suspension or firing. While this case does not appear to involve any possible NCAA violations, Jim Tressel’s firing atOhioStatelast year showed that even a coach who won a national championship can lose his job for lying to his boss.

“I hope to have a resolution soon,” Long said. “I certainly don’t have all the answers here tonight, as we meet. But again, I have an obligation and responsibility to obtain the information and then act appropriately on that information.”

The 51-year-old Petrino, who is married with four children, didn’t mention he had a passenger during a news conference on Tuesday, two days after Sunday’s accident, and a school statement that day quoted Petrino’s family as saying “no other individuals” were involved. Petrino said then that he had spent Sunday with his wife, Becky, at a lake and was going for an evening ride. His only mention of Dorrell was vague, and without identification.

“When I came out of the ditch, there was a lady there that had flagged down a car,” Petrino said Tuesday, nursing four broken ribs and wearing a neck brace to support a cracked neck vertebra. “The guy that was in the passenger’s seat said, `Get in, we’ll just take you right to the hospital instead of waiting,’and so I got in the car and they headed towardFayetteville.”

In Thursday’s statement, Petrino apologized and acknowledged that he had kept quiet about Dorrell.

“I have been in constant pain, medicated and the circumstances involving the wreck have come out in bits and pieces. That said, I certainly had a concern about Jessica Dorrell’s name being revealed,” he said. “In hindsight, I showed a serious mistake in judgment when I chose not to be more specific about those details. Today, I’ve acknowledged this previous inappropriate relationship with my family and those within the athletic department administration.”

Dorrell, who did not return a call seeking comment, was hired March 28 by Petrino as the student-athlete development coordinator after serving as a fundraiser with the Razorback Foundation. She is in charge of organizing the recruiting process for the football team, including initial eligibility for each incoming player.

Long said he had not decided whether to suspend Dorrell.

Petrino signed a new seven-year contract in December 2010 after completing his third regular season atArkansas. The contract, which was for an average of $3.53 million annually.

The police report said Petrino was riding with Dorrell when he lost control of his motorcycle. Dorrell said in the report that she wasn’t sure what caused the accident, during which Petrino was unable to maneuver a turn and laid the motorcycle down on its left side while sliding off a rural, two-lane road about 20 miles southeast of Fayetteville.

Petrino said in the report that wind and sun caused the accident. The police report said Petrino and Dorrell were taken by a passer-by to an intersection in southeastFayetteville, where a state police officer took Petrino to the hospital.

The police report said Dorrell wasn’t taken to a hospital, and that she was dropped off at her vehicle, which was parked at the intersection. State police spokesman Bill Sadler said Petrino didn’t try to hide Dorrell’s part in the accident when questioned on Tuesday.

“Coach Petrino was as cooperative as anybody that we could ever hope to encounter following the traffic crash,” Sadler said.

Petrino, who wasn’t wearing a helmet, was hospitalized but had since returned to practice.

Arkansashas high expectations for next season, led by first-team All-Southeastern Conference quarterback Wilson. Also,Davis’ return after missing all of last season with an ankle injury has only added to the high hopes.

How Petrino’s misstep affects those hopes has yet to be seen. The next move is Long’s.

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