Stepping in for someone like Dalton Wagner who started 40 games at right tackle for the Razorbacks is something many recently turned 19-year-olds would struggle to do, but that is exactly what Arkansas sophomore Patrick Kutas is looking to do this fall.
Kutas is a young player by any definition, but it would be hard to notice when you watch him play. The native of Memphis is projected to fill the starting right tackle role previously held by Wagner, who is now with the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL.
"He does some things that are very uncanny for young players as far as the strength category," offensive line coach Cody Kennedy said Monday. "And only continuing to get better as he learns more in the game and gains more confidence out there on the edge.”
As with any 19-year-old in the SEC, growing pains are bound to happen, and for Kutas that includes getting used to the speed and power required to play at this level. Being able to go through fall camp and figure out the finer details of the position has been a big step forward for the sophomore.
“Him trying to get a grasp on how to set guys depending on where they’re lined up, that’s been a little bit change for him, but he’s picking it up well,” center Beaux Limmer said Tuesday. “He’s going to be good.”
Part of the adjustment for Kutas is getting accustomed to life at tackle. He played exclusively on special teams during his first season in Fayetteville, while playing multiple positions on the offensive line in practice.
Kutas earned the starting right tackle spot during the spring, but he was still the emergency backup center for the Hogs. The addition of Coffeyville Community College transfer Amaury Wiggins gives the Razorbacks a true backup center and allows Kutas to stay at tackle.
“Kutas has kind of played everywhere since he’s been here,” Limmer said. “He’s played center, he’s played guard and now he’s playing tackle. Him having to learn pass setting for tackle is a whole lot different than pass setting on the inside.”
The grind of fall camp can often wear players down, but not Kutas, who helps bring the toughness every day to what can otherwise be a grind.
“I’d say Patrick Kutas really has a nastiness to him,” left guard Brady Latham said. “He plays really, really hard and he finishes plays. It’s really fun to watch Kutas and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for him.”
With much expected of him, Kutas has done everything in his power to fill the big shoes of Wagner to this point. Arkansas has 11 fall camp practices down with 14 remaining ahead of the season opener against Western Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 2 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
