Battle brewing at right guard for Arkansas offensive line
The Arkansas football team is still a few weeks away from fall camp, but there could be a new face at right guard when the season rolls around.
Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman met wit the media on Thursday at SEC Media Days and talked about what the right guard spot will look like.
Pittman said redshirt freshman Kobe Branham — a Fort Smith native — looked like a starter heading into the spring, but a torn pectoral muscle sidelined him for most of spring practice.
Branham is getting close to fully healthy, Pittman said, but there’s a battle brewing for the starting spot to the right of the center.
“Kobe Branham, in our thoughts, was every bit a starter for us after the Liberty Bowl and progressing into spring ball,” Pittman said. “Keyshawn Blackstock has played a lot of reps for us. He played right guard in the spring, as well as E’Marion Harris.
“There is a battle there. Whoever wins it, then we’ll have an opportunity to strengthen ourselves at another position.”
What could Arkansas’ starting offensive line look like?
Pittman went on to say the first order of business is identifying the five starters, and said Branham will likely be in that mix.
There’s still fall practices to get through, but spring practice gave a pretty good look at what the other four starters could look like.
At left tackle, it appears Georgia Tech transfer Corey Robinson II has locked down the position. Fernando Carmona Jr., who spent last season at left tackle, has moved to the interior at left guard, and UCF transfer center Caden Kitler ran with the first team a lot during the spring.
In addition to Kitler, Bryant native Brooks Edmonson is also in the mix at center.
That leaves just right guard and right tackle with the question marks. Along with right guard in the spring, Blackstock played right tackle last season.
While there’s still room for changes, it’s very possible this is what the Arkansas offensive line looks like when the pads come on on Aug. 30:
- LT — Corey Robinson II
- LG — Fernando Carmona Jr.
- C — Caden Kitler
- RG — Kobe Branham, Keyshawn Blackstock or E’Marion Harris
- RT — E’Marion Harris or Keyshawn Blackstock
There are some questions as to what the offensive line looks like next season, and there will be some answers when fall camp starts at the beginning of August.
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