In the face of roster uncertainty and fan angst after a middling 6-6 (3-5 SEC) 2024 campaign, Arkansas left tackle Fernando Carmona Jr. communicated his confidence Tuesday for the Razorbacks' future.
A 6-foot-5, 322-pound redshirt junior, Carmona anchored down the left side of Arkansas' offensive line all year for fifth-year head coach Sam Pittman. The former San Jose State transfer announced his return to Fayetteville on Dec. 4 and credited a passion for improvement as his reason why.
"I think it goes kind of along with the love for (Pittman), the love for (Eric Mateos) and the love for the guys that are still here," Carmona said Tuesday. "I love this school. I love this university.
"6-6 is not what we wanted. This is not what I wanted at all. I think there's just more left in this tank and these fans deserve it. I just think coming back was the best decision for me because we have more left and 6-6 is not our ceiling. We're going to show people next year."
Fair concerns have arisen for Arkansas' offensive line following transfer departures from starters Addison Nichols, Joshua Braun and Patrick Kutas, but Carmona seemed confident that a rebuild through the portal will have a smoother transition than it did in 2024.
"I wouldn't say it's a concern just because of the simple fact of we were coming into a whole new offense (this year), and that's kind of the hardest part," Carmona said. "Obviously it's blending with the offensive line, but learning that offensive playbook is extremely hard. And now we're going to have three, possibly four people returning next year who know the playbook through and through.
"I'm not really too concerned at all, and I know we're going to get some extra pieces, and I'm going to bring them in with open arms, and we're just going to keep rolling as we always do."
So far, Arkansas has earned a portal commitment from Oregon transfer tackle JacQawn McRoy and has hosted offensive line transfers such as UCF transfer Caden Kitler, Georgia Tech transfer Corey Robinson II and more. The Razorbacks are clearly big-game hunting to upgrade what was an average offensive line this past season.
"It's exciting," Carmona said. "I had dinner with one of them last night, and it's just kind of nice meeting these new guys and people that are going to be probably in our new position group. And so it's fun just talking to these guys, just kind of seeing where their mindset's at and kind of just showing them how they're going to fit into our offense and what they can do for us and how we can help them.
"So it's just a lot of fun. We're recruiting our tails off as players and we're trying to bring the best of the best, and that's how you elevate rooms, is bringing the best of the best."
Up next, Arkansas will face the Texas Tech Raiders in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 27 at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. That game will kick off at 6 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN.
