So how is Mark Ingram, really?

One game back, he looked better than ever last week after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery just prior to the season.

The Alabama Heisman Trophy winner carved through Duke’s defense for 151 yards on nine carries. He had 48 yards the first time he touched the ball and 50 yards on his third carry.

As good as Ingram looked, he says there’s still another gear he can reach and is hopeful of getting there Saturday against No. 10-ranked Arkansas.

“There’s definitely another gear I can get to,” Ingram said. “I still have to get used to being back out there, because it’s different when you haven’t been out there in a game. But I’m feeling great, feeling fresh. I feel quick. I feel fast, and I feel strong.”

Ingram said his left knee hasn’t given him any problems following the surgery. Luckily, there wasn’t any serious damage to the knee, only a meniscus tear, Ingram said.

But when it happened that Monday prior to the opener against San Jose State, Ingram said he feared the worst.

“I tried to get up and walk it off right away,” he recalled. “I took a few steps, and my knee would buckle. I took a few more steps, and it buckled again. I really didn’t know what it was. I was hoping it wasn’t serious, and then I got the MRI and that’s when they told me it was a meniscus tear and would only require minor surgery. I knew I would get back fairly quickly.”

Ingram said the plan all along was to make it back for the Duke game and get some carries to ensure that he was ready for the SEC opener against Arkansas.

“I wanted to make sure I was full-go, 100 percent for this SEC game, and that’s where I am,” Ingram said.

He’s done some of his best work on big stages. In six games against nationally ranked teams last season, he averaged 188.8 rushing yards. Moreover, he averaged 108.5 yards after contact in those six games and had 31 runs of 10 yards or longer against ranked foes.

After it was known that Ingram would miss a couple of games, Trent Richardson let him know immediately that he was just keeping his seat warm until Ingram got back.

Richardson rushed for 144 yards in the Penn State win, and Ingram was his biggest cheerleader.

For all the talk in the preseason about whether or not there would be enough carries to go around for these two guys, their relationship is as strong as ever.

Ingram said there’s no question in his mind that they’ve made each other better.

“When I’m in, he’s supporting me. When he gets in, I’m supporting him,” Ingram said. “That’s how it’s always been with all the running backs. Our meeting room is like a family. We push each other to the fullest, and there’s no selfishness. When he’s in there getting his carries, I feel like I’m out there running the ball.

“He’s a great player, a great runner, and it’s an honor to be sharing carries and be in the same backfield with him.”