Offensive Line Room
I love the Hogs because I resonate with the Razorback. Blue collar, chip-on-shoulder, gritty…the school, the fans, the team. My name on the sidewalk means the world to me. Excited for the boys to show the world what we’re seeing every day. 🐗 Woo Damn Pig
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How Did We Get Here?
It’s no mystery that last year was an overall disappointment… The final record was 4-8, all though there was 5 losses that were within 1 possession from being wins. We would be having a completely different conversation if the ball bounced a different way. However… it didn’t so here we are…
Welcome Home Coach Mateos
The Razorbacks have a new OC and a new line coach along with several new linemen this year. Coach Eric Mateos has returned home from his GA days with the Hogs. Most recently he was with Baylor where his line gave up 34 sacks, while achieving 1,749 rushing yards and 3,156 yards in the air…compared to Arkansas giving up 49 sacks while achieving 1,668 yards on the ground and 2,250 on the ground. Now that Coach Mateos is back in the fold and Bobby Petrino is running the offense, the Head Hog himself is able to help coach up the line too. It’s hard to imagine that the line would not take a significant step forward this year…
What Should We Look For?
In a year that the results were less than favorable it makes sense in today’s climate of NIL and Transfer Portal for the roster to have some turn over… The roster breaks down with 19 Players on the O-Line:
- 6 Freshmen/Red Shirt Freshmen
- 4 Sophomores/Red Shirt Sophomores
- 6 Juniors/Red Shirt Juniors
- 3 Seniors/Red Shirt Seniors
The interior of the line looks to be a solid group of guys, that have a good chemistry already. There are 2 transfers at the heart of the interior that have a year at Arkansas under their belt. The starters I am keeping an eye on are:
Left Tackle: Fernando Carmona, Red Shirt Junior
Left Guard: Patrick Kutas, Junior
Center: Addison Nichols, Red Shirt Sophomore
Right Guard: Josh Braun, Red Shirt Senior
Right Tackle: Keyshawn Blackstock, Red Shirt Junior
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Depth: E’Marion Harris, Red Shirt Sophomore
Depth: Ty’Kieast Crawford, Senior
Depth: Amaury Wiggins, Red Shirt Junior
Depth: Kobe Branham, Freshman
Depth: Joe More, Red Shirt Senior
Top Guys to Watch 👇
#72 Joshua Braun- Redshirt Senior
6′ 6″ | 349 lbs
Bio: 2023 (REDSHIRT JUNIOR): Earned Second-Team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press after starting all 12 games in his first season at Arkansas … Started the season-opening win over Western Carolina (Sept. 2) at left guard and the remaining 11 games at right guard … His career-high 790 offensive snaps ranked second on the team according to Pro Football Focus … Graded out at 70.7 according to PFF with a team high 79.3 grade in pass blocking …. Allowed only two sacks over 394 snaps with just three penalties … Recorded his best overall grade of the season vs. BYU (Sept. 16) with an 84.6 aided by his season-high run-blocking grade of 89.4 … Posted his best pass-blocking grade at Alabama (Oct. 14) with an 85.5.
Addison Nichols- Redshirt Sophomore
6′ 5″ | 306 lbs
Bio: 2023 (REDSHIRT FRESHMAN): Appeared in 12 games as a reserve offensive lineman during his redshirt freshman season … Played 12 offensive snaps at right guard in the season opener at Virginia (Sept. 2) and did not allow a pressure … Appeared on special teams in home opener against Austin Peay (Sept. 9) … Saw action on PAT/field goal unit in his SEC debut at Florida (Sept. 16) … Played six offensive snaps at left guard against UTSA (Sept. 23) and did not allow a pressure … Blocked on PAT and field goal units in back-to-back SEC wins over South Carolina (Sept. 30) and Texas A&M (Oct. 14) … Saw action on field goal and PAT units for two straight SEC road trips at Alabama (Oct. 21) and Kentucky (Oct. 28) … Played 22 offensive snaps at left guard in Homecoming win over UConn (Nov. 4) … Played 67 snaps against Vanderbilt (Nov. 25), earning an 85% rating on pass-blocking per PFF.
#75 Patrick Kutas- Junior
6′ 5″ | 312 lbs
Bio: 2023 (SOPHOMORE): Started all nine games he played in during his sophomore season before an injury ended his season … Earned starts at right tackle and center totaling 552 snaps according to Pro Football Focus … Logged another 81 snaps on special teams units … Started his first career game at center at Ole Miss (Oct. 14) after starting each of the first five games of the season at right tackle … Allowed five sacks over 301 pass plays according to PFF.
Kobe Branham– Freshman
6′ 5″ | 325lbs
Bio: A consensus three-star prospect by 247Sports, Rivals, ESPN and On3 … Rated the No. 30 offensive lineman nationally by Rivals … No. 5 overall prospect in Arkansas according to Rivals … No. 7 overall prospect in Arkansas by ESPN … No. 13 overall prospect in Arkansas according to On3 … No. 15 overall prospect in Arkansas by 247Sports … Played for head coach Kim Dameron at Southside High School in Fort Smith, Ark. … As a senior, recorded 56 pancake blocks and did not allow a sack all season … Earned a 94.3% grade on the offensive line … Birthdate: Nov. 4, 2005 … CHOSE ARKANSAS OVER: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, SMU, Texas A&M and others.
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About BigPapaSmall
Brian Small aka BigPapaSmall is a life long die hard Arkansas Razorbacks fan. With a passion for sports and a nature of talking… The time came to put the passion to work and talk to you about sports and life on the Podcast and Blog Posts. Thank you for taking the time to be here, the goal is to provide you with the most value possibly.