Tag: Brady Latham

Depth chart for Arkansas’ offensive line a work in progress

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman feels good about his team up front, but only two players are locked into starting gigs right now.

Beaux Limmer is locked in. Brady Latham is locked in.

After that, coach Sam Pittman and offensive line coach Cody Kennedy have a decent idea of who will start for the Arkansas football team up front. But it’s far from set in stone.

Limmer was named to the Rimington Award watchlist on Friday as potentially the nation’s best center. Latham was named a preseason All-SEC second-teamer at SEC Media Days in July. Even if Kennedy, Pittman and Co. are unsure about the rest, those two players provide a good starting point, anyway.

The closest to joining them as all-but-guaranteed starter is guard Josh Braun. Braun transferred from Florida in the spring where he was a starter for the Gators. That work he put in with Arkansas in the spring upon arrival has given an advantage as the Razorbacks have opened fall practice ahead of the regular season.

“I think coming out of spring ball, Josh has earned the right to be with the 1s,” Pittman said Friday after Arkansas’ first practice. “We like him at guard. The depth chart is all over the place right now. It will change tomorrow.”

Regardless, Pittman said he feels comfortable with the depth and talent Arkansas has on the offensive line. And, really, it’s tough to say otherwise from the outside looking in.

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Arkansas Football: Offseason Depth Chart – Offensive Line

Arkansas needed to re-tool their offensive line this offseason, so here’s a glance at what the depth chart looks like ahead of next season.

We know that Arkansas will have a ton of weapons on offense next season, especially with the return of both KJ Jefferson and Rocket Sanders. However, that won’t mean much if the Razorbacks can’t get some solid play from another veteran-led offensive line.

In Arkansas’ projected two-deep, they’ll have three seniors, one junior and three sophomores, with five of them having SEC experience.

Offensive line coach [autotag]Cody Kennedy[/autotag] is entering his third full-time season in Fayetteville. Last year’s offensive line was a little more experienced than this year’s bunch following the departures of Ricky Stromberg (drafted to Washington in third round of NFL Draft) and Dalton Wagner (signed free agent deal with Las Vegas).

With Stromberg gone, Kennedy needed to do some re-shuffling up front to find an experienced center and help some new pieces fit seamlessly.

Here’s a glance at the two-deep for Arkansas’ offensive line entering next season.

Razorbacks land four players on preseason All-SEC teams

Arkansas’ best two players were justifiably named first-teamers.

The SEC Media Days picks are always the most reasonable ones.

Forget Tim Tebow’s or Jordan Rodgers’ or Phil Steele’s. The SEC Media Days picks are reflective of the league’s assembled media as a whole, giving the selections both perspective and distance because any homer picks are wiped out elsewhere.

As such, the selection of four Arkansas players to the preseason All-SEC teams is not just fair, but reflective of the Hogs’ talent.

Center Ricky Stromberg and safety Jalen Catalon were named first-team All-SEC players while linebacker Bumper Pool was a second-teamer and guard Brady Latham was a third-team selection.

Catalon and Stromberg are largely considered Arkansas’ best pro prospects for next year’s NFL draft as well potential All-Americans. Catalon was a Freshman All-American two seasons but injury limited him to just six games last year.

Sam Pittman knows a good O-line when he sees it and Arkansas has it

With four starters back, Sam Pittman knows Arkansas has the goods on the offensive line.

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman cut his teeth coaching the hogs, not the Hogs.

Such a resume is ultimately what earned him his first collegiate head coaching gig with the Razorbacks. He was – still is – considered the top offensive line coach in the country.

So when he praises what Arkansas has up front this year, it’s less like a coach simply being proud of his team or overstating their skill. Instead, it’s legit.

“Four of the five (starters) are coming back with all the running backs, and of course the No. 1 rusher we had was KJ Jefferson,” Pittman said. “They excite the heck out of me. They’ve got a great coach in Cody Kennedy.”

It’s that offensive line, Jefferson and the stable of running backs Arkansas has that makes fans and some pundits believe this could be the year the Razorbacks stay up with the nation’s elite.

Arkansas went 9-4 last year, capping the season with a win over Penn State in the Outback Bowl. It was the best year the Hogs have had since 2011.

Center Ricky Stromberg, guards Brady Latham and Beaux Limmer and tackle Dalton Wagner all return to block for an Arkansas running game that was first in the SEC last year.