Knee injuries force Hogs defensive lineman to give it up

Arkansas defensive lineman Briston Guidry has been forced to quit playing after seven knee injuries have taken a toll, he announced via Twitter on Tuesday.

https://twitter.com/bristonguidry7/status/1128447119122157568

He will forever be the answer of a trivia question around Razorbacks football.

Guidry scored the first touchdown of the Chad Morris time at Arkansas, recovering a fumble in the end zone against Eastern Illinois for the second touchdown of his career.

At times, Guidry flashed the potential he had as a four-star recruit from Metairie, Louisiana, in 2016, turning down offers from LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma and others.

He redshirted his first season and had 36 tackles over his two season with six for loss, 2.5 sacks, a couple of pass breakups and quarterback hurries with three fumbles recovered and one fumble forced.

Originally a four-star signee out of Metairie, La., Archbishop Rummel, Guidry was the No. 133 overall prospect in the Class of 2016. He turned down offers from Alabama, LSU, Miami (Fla.), Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas A&M and others to play for the Razorbacks.

After redshirting his first year on campus, Guidry was mostly a rotation guy in the middle of the defensive line, making 36 tackles over the last two seasons. He also had six tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two pass breakups, two quarterback hurries, three fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.

Although there were several times he showed the talent that made him a 5.9 four-star recruit, the aforementioned injuries prevented him from fulfilling his full potential.

Pro Football Focus gave him a 76.8 grade on 155 snaps last season, which was the second highest on the defense among players with at least 100 snaps. That came after he earned a 73.0 grade on 280 snaps the year before.

Another knee surgery kept him out of the final two games of the 2018 season and also prevented him from being a full participant in spring practice. Without him, the Razorbacks relied on McTelvin Agim and T.J. Smith as their primary first-team defensive tackles, with Jonathan Marshall and Isaiah Nichols backing them up.

Guidry’s departure also opens up another scholarship for the Razorbacks. It does not mean they can bring in another transfer, but they could give it to a walk-on who has been on campus at least two years or hang on to it for the 2020 class.