After another offseason featuring a mass exodus of scholarship players to the transfer portal, Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman was again left to rebuild his roster via the portal.
It could be argued that the most recent transfer cycle produced Pittman's best group of transfers on the offensive line to date. There was plenty of production to replace, though, with three starters from last year transferring — two of which went to other SEC programs.
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Arkansas added five transfer offensive linemen, one junior college transfer and three scholarship freshmen up front. The Razorbacks also returned starting left tackle Fernando Carmona Jr. and starting right tackle E'Marion Harris, along with other experienced players such as Keyshawn Blackstock, Brooks Edmonson and Kobe Branham.
Two of the transfer additions brought in were highly-touted tackles — Shaq McCroy from Oregon and Corey Robinson from Georgia Tech. The Hogs also added UCF transfer center Caden Kitler, Ole Miss transfer Kavion Broussard and Maryland transfer Marcus Dumervil.
Add in JUCO transfer Carmarion "Bubba" Craig and the trio of freshmen — Blake Cherry, Lionel Prudhomme and Kash Courtney — and there's a lot of decisions to make for Pittman and second-year offensive line coach Eric Mateos.
"I think we’ll know fairly quickly who our top 10 offensive linemen are," Pittman said Thursday. "Where they play, per se, it might take a little while. But I can tell you, athletically, Corey Robinson is — he can move now. And we got what we wanted there. Carmona, we’re looking at him a little bit more inside, whether that be guard or center. Caden Kitler is a guy that I’ve been real pleased with at center.
"Bubba Craig is a new guy where we don’t know for sure if he’s going to be a guard or a tackle. Broussard is another guy, very athletic, that we got in, that we like a lot. Marcus Dumervil, we’re going to start him out at the right tackle spot. The guy that’s probably been as impressive as any of them in his ability to move is Shaq McRoy. I don’t know that Shaq’s the fastest lineman that we have, but he’s one of them. Which, I recruited him — we did — here hard out of high school and I just never believed that he could move at 370 pounds like he can."
Arkansas was tied for 110th in the nation last season with 2.77 sacks allowed per game (36 total). The rushing offense ranked 34th with 184.8 ground yards per game and 4.92 yards per carry.
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According to Pro Football Focus, the Razorbacks ranked 84th nationally with a pass blocking grade of 64.8, and their run blocking grade of 63.8 ranked 64th in the country. The Hogs allowed 137 total quarterback pressures and 98 quarterback hurries during the 2024 season, which resulted in a 7-6 record and a Liberty Bowl win over Texas Tech.
"We have depth," Pittman said of this year's offensive line. "You add Brooks Edmonson in there and Kobe Branham. I like our young guys with Kash Courtney and Blake Cherry. I like those. I think we hit on those guys athletically and knowledge of football. We’ve been able to have some meetings with them.
"This will be, in my opinion, the most upgraded room that we have, as far as size, speed, physicality. But we’ll have to find out exactly about them all in spring ball. But I really like that group and how they look and how they work."
One note Pittman made is the idea of moving Carmona — who started 13 games at left tackle as a transfer from San Jose State last year — to the inside of the offensive line, potentially even at center.
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"I think that’s what they’re going to do with him at the next level," Pittman said. "I approached him about playing center, because I think he would be outstanding. If it’s the best thing for him and for the team, that’s what we’ll do. I have liked Kitler, I have liked him a lot. If Robinson was your left tackle, Carmona was your left guard, and Kitler and whoever, Kobe, Blackstock, whoever at right, and then you got to find, whether it’s McRoy, whether it’s Dumervil, whether it’s (E'Marion) Harris, and I don’t mean in that order, then you got to find that.
"But, I think Carmona’s was honestly, we got Corey Robinson. Then we go, ‘Well, that can allow us to help Junior a little bit more with his future and help the team.’ So, he took it great and we didn’t really say we’re going to move you, we went in there and talked about, what do you think? He said, ‘Well, I think they’re going to move me inside in the league, coach.’ I said, ‘Well, you’re going to want to try it now, you want to try a little center, you want to try guard.’ So, that’s how that went."
Arkansas spring practice will begin Monday in Fayetteville in preparation for the Red-White Spring Game on April 19 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. The spring game will not be televised.
