Arkansas OL Fernando Carmona admits there is holding on every play: 'If you're not cheating, you're not trying'

It’s a dog-eat-dog world in the trenches, and Arkansas offensive lineman Fernando Carmona is willing to do whatever it takes to gain an advantage. During an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show on Monday, Carmona revealed how he breaks the rules every game.

“There’s definitely holding each and every play,” Carmona said. “But I’m also a believer that if you’re not trying to cheat, you’re not trying to try. As an offensive lineman, you’ve got to hold, you got to tug a little bit, but you got to do it in a way where the refs don’t see it.

“All offensive linemen can attest that it happens each and every play. It’s just about, if you’re sneaky with it and if you’re able to get your hands inside, they won’t call it.”

Arkansas’ offensive line should be one of the team’s strongest units this fall. Three of the Razorbacks’ four returning starters on offense are linemen. The other is quarterback Taylen Green.

Carmona will lead the way for Arkansas’ front five. He started all 13 games for the Razorbacks last season. In turn, Arkansas averaged 459.5 yards of total offense per game, the 10th most in the country.

Carmona was named a preseason All-SEC First-Team selection by USA Today and an all-conference second-team selection by the league’s media. Last season was Carmona’s first at Arkansas after spending three years at San Jose State.

While Fernando Carmona could be Arkansas’ best player this fall, he is far from satisfied. During the first week of fall camp, Carmona revealed where he still needs to improve his game.

 “There’s still lots of learning I had to do, just kind of with my steps and what I can do and what I can’t do,” Carmona said. “I feel like in the run game, I’ve kind of figured it out, but in the pass game, there’s still kind of a long way I need to go, but that’s what fall camp is for.

“We’ve got this month to really iron out all the errors and all that good stuff, and so I think I’m almost there, but I just kind of got to clean up that passing game, and I think I’ll be ready to go.”

On Aug. 30, Arkansas will kick off its 2025 campaign with a showdown against Alabama A&M at 4:15 p.m. ET. The game will air live on the SEC Network.