Kentucky returns from its off week to play host to Arkansas this week, and the Wildcats may get a healthier quarterback as well. Coach Mark Stoops at his regular weekly press conference updated the status of Sawyer Smith.

Smith before the bye week dealt with multiple injuries that limited him before he was pulled at South Carolina, following a shoulder injury suffered at Mississippi State the week before. Stoops also said Monday that Smith had a “lower extremity” injury that has improved.

“He took a solid week off,” Stoops said. “He needed that, and the word I got from our trainer here this morning was that he feels significantly better. So that’ll be the plan. I’m not trying to withhold any information on you guys, it just is what it is. He’s banged up, you guys know that, you know the other options we’ve been working and we’ll proceed with Sawyer and anticipate him being the starting quarter and playing this week. That’s the plan and we’ll see how the week goes.”

Before the off week, the plan appeared to be UK using WR Lynn Bowden in more of a “Wild Cat” look as Bowden himself has mentioned the offense could look like it did with former UK star Randall Cobb at the helm. Smith, of course, replaced original starter Terry Wilson, who suffered a season-ending injury earlier in the season.