Heading into a pivotal 2025 season, it was clear that Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman had to completely reshape his offensive line unit through the transfer portal.
With one graduation (Joe More), one medical retirement (Luke Brown) and five transfers out (Patrick Kutas, Joshua Braun, Addison Nichols, Amaury Wiggins and Ty'Kieast Crawford), the Razorbacks needed legit SEC starting help and depth.
It's not every day a program has to replace so many key starters in its offensive trenches, but the unit wasn't exactly a powerhouse under offensive line coach Eric Mateos with 2.77 sacks allowed per game (110th nationally).
The three departures that "hurt" Arkansas the most were Braun, Kutas and Nichols, also the three highest-graded offensive linemen on the team, per Pro Football Focus. That trio are now members of Kentucky, Ole Miss and SMU, respectively.
Many were surprised when Crawford entered the transfer portal, but only because it was believed he had no eligibility remaining. The massive tackle could never quite get in rhythm with the Razorbacks, and he'll now try his luck at UCLA.
Wiggins played sparingly for Arkansas as a backup center and hasn't committed to another program through the portal, as of when this story was published.
Incoming freshmen such as Captain Shreve (LA.) product Lionel Prudhomme, Owasso (OK.) three-star Blake Cherry and Carthage (TX.) tackle Kash Courtney are intriguing prospects, but it was clear — as mentioned above — the Hogs needed to add talent in the transfer portal.
So far, the Razorbacks have signed five transfer portal and one junior college offensive linemen. Three of them put together very solid seasons in 2024 for their respective programs, while two — former four-star Jac'Qawn McRoy and versatile Louisiana native Kavion Broussard — redshirted and the fifth, Marcus Dumervil, was a contributor at Maryland.
Arkansas Offensive Line Production
Note: Broussard and McRoy did not play in 2024 and Craig played in JUCO, so no PFF stats are available for those three.
| Not Returning | 2024 PFF | Transferring In | 2024 PFF |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe More (OT) | 65.3 OFF, 61.5 RBLK, 83.8 PBLK, 34 snaps | Corey Robinson II (Georgia Tech OT) | 67.7 OFF, 54.6 RBLK, 90.5 PBLK, 539 snaps |
| Patrick Kutas (OG) | 69.6 OFF, 67.9 RBLK, 73.6 PBLK, 230 snaps | Kavion Broussard (Ole Miss OG) | N/A |
| Addison Nichols (C) | 70.0 OFF, 66.8 RBLK, 76.4 PBLK, 769 snaps | Caden Kitler (UCF C) | 71.1 OFF, 67.9 RBLK, 79.5 PBLK, 709 snaps |
| Joshua Braun (OG) | 71.5 OFF, 70.0 RBLK, 83.0 PBLK, 835 snaps | Jac'Qawn McRoy (Oregon OT) | N/A |
| Ty'Kieast Crawford (OT/G) | 63.5 OFF, 59.9 RBLK, 78.3 PBLK, 10 snaps | Marcus Dumervil (Maryland OT) | 47.4 OFF, 49.3 RBLK, 41.8 PBLK, 279 snaps |
| Amaury Wiggins (C) | 60.7 OFF, 60.0 RBLK, 58.1 PBLK, 94 snaps | Carmarion Craig (Hutchinson C.C. OG) | N/A |
Corey Robinson II (6-foot-5, 305 lbs) began his career at Kansas, where he redshirted before transferring to Georgia Tech. Robinson started all 12 games at left tackle for the Yellow Jackets in 2022, but only logged the sixth-most offensive line snaps the following season.
The soon-to-be redshirt senior was electric in the passing game in 2024, as he finished with the No. 2 pass-block grade amongst Power Five offensive linemen (90.5), per PFF.
A highly-rated three-star prospect out of Zachary High School in Louisiana, Kavion Broussard (6-foot-6, 308 lbs) received transfer portal offers from Miami, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt and others but ultimately chose the Hogs over the Commodores.
For Ole Miss in 2024, Broussard did not receive any playing time and redshirted as a result. He's viewed as a versatile piece that could play inside or outside thanks to his frame.
UCF transfer center Caden Kitler (6-foot-3, 295 lbs) is as close to a one-for-one replacement for Addison Nichols as Arkansas could get from the portal, but the upside here is Kitler has more experience snapping the ball than Nichols in 2024.
The Texas native visited SMU, Mississippi State and Florida State and was also being courted by Michigan for a short time before choosing the Razorbacks.
Once big "Shaq" McRoy (6-foot-8, 375 lbs) hit the portal, everyone knew Arkansas was a major player for the Oregon transfer. The former highly-recruited four-star nearly committed to the Razorbacks out of high school, but ended up with the Ducks and didn't play in 2024 behind a strong Oregon offensive line.
One look at the PFF stats will have you questioning this pickup, but as Mateos said on X, a rising tide lifts all boats in Marcus Dumervil's (6-foot-5, 310 lbs) case. The nephew of former NFL player Elvis Dumervil, who played for Bobby Petrino at Louisville in the early 2000s, Marcus started three games for the Terrapins in 2024 and played at least 20 snaps in seven contests.
Arkansas has had tough luck with junior college transfers recently, but Carmarion "Bubba" Craig (6-foot-6, 325 lbs) has the size to be a meaningful depth piece for the Hogs. Though nothing is certain, the new JUCO waiver rule may give Craig some or all of his eligibility back, which means plenty of time for development at Arkansas.
