FAYETTEVILLE — Hoover, Ala., native Bradley Shaw was courted by and held offers from both Auburn and Alabama before committing to Arkansas.

Saturday's game against Auburn inside Jordan-Hare Stadium is a homecoming of sorts for Shaw. Hoover sits roughly two hours northwest of the AU campus and Shaw estimated he'll have about 15 family members in attendance for Saturday's game.

It doesn't sound like the junior linebacker, who was with the Hogs when they beat Auburn 24-14 on the Plains in 2024, thinks too much of the Jordan-Hare Stadium environment, however.

"I have been in that stadium before," Shaw said Wednesday. "I feel like it's an okay environment. I feel like the Razorback environment is way better. That's all I got to say about that."

The road environment hasn't been too hostile for neither Arkansas nor Auburn in the recent years of the series. The road team has won the last five games in the series, which includes Arkansas' wins at Auburn in 2022 and 2024. Had a controversial spike call for Bo Nix and the Tigers gone the other way in 2020, Arkansas could've won three in a row at a stadium known for being a magnet for wacky endings.

On the run

Quarterback Byrum Brown leads Auburn in rushing and will undoubtedly be a major focus for Arkansas' defense on Saturday, but equally as dangerous is RB Jeremiah Cobb, who ran for 153 yards in Auburn's 33-24 defeat of Arkansas in Fayetteville last year.

Cobbs has 355 rushing yards through seven games this season and was held to 49 combined yards against both LSU and Ole Miss. He's yet to break the 100-yard mark in a game this season, though a UA run defense that has struggled this year may present him with the opportunity to do so.

"I feel like he's a great runner," Shaw said. "Gets downhill, plays behind his pads, looking to lower his shoulder. I think just having gap integrity across the board, everybody trusting that everybody's gonna be in their gap, that's how we stop him."

Clean bill of health

An ankle injury nagged Shaw early in the season, but the team captain is now healthy. He missed Arkansas' games against Tulsa and Texas A&M before returning to action against Tennessee on Oct. 10 and had nine tackles and a fumble recovery — as well as a touchdown wiped off the board by a prematurely blown whistle — against Missouri.

"The ankle, it's doing way better," Shaw said. "Way better. I've been working to get back to 100 percent. I feel like I got there. Tennessee week, that's when I was back 100 percent."

Kickoff between Arkansas and Auburn is set for 11:45 a.m. on Saturday, with coverage on SEC Network and the Razorback Sports Network.

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