OL coach Cody Kennedy leaving Arkansas for SEC West team
Arkansas Razorbacks offensive line coach Cody Kennedy is moving on from the program.
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas football offensive line coach Cody Kennedy is officially parting ways with the Razorbacks for an SEC West foe.
Mississippi State football confirmed on Friday afternoon that Kennedy will be the Bulldogs' next offensive line coach for first-year head coach Jeff Lebby. The Razorbacks will now be looking for a new man to coach the o-line for new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino.
Kennedy moving on marks the second departure for the 2023 staff, as he joins former offensive coordinator Dan Enos, who was fired on Oct. 22 following a 7-3 loss to Mississippi State.
The move comes two days after the hiring of new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, and after the Hogs allowed 47 sacks this season, which ranks 124th in the country and last in the SEC.
On top of that, Arkansas finished the year with the 88th overall rushing offense in the nation after averaging just 140.1 yards per game this season.
With two Preseason All-SEC Second-Team offensive linemen in Beaux Limmer and Brady Latham on the roster heading into the year, the Razorbacks' offensive line was expected to be average at-worst for Arkansas head coach and offensive line guru Sam Pittman.
Instead, Limmer's move to center didn't pay off and Latham took a step back at left guard. Left tackle was a revolving door for most of the year, as Andrew Chamblee and Devon Manuel rotated in and out mainly due to injuries.
As for the right side, Florida transfer Joshua Braun and sophomore Patrick Kutas held down the guard and tackle positions for the majority of the season, respectively.
According to Pro Football Focus, Arkansas finished the 2023-24 campaign with a run block grade of 64.1 and a pass block grade of 60.6.
Out of all SEC offensive linemen with at least 200 snaps, Chamblee ranks 88th (out of 89) in pass block with a PFF grade of 41.0 and 74th in run block grade with a 55.0. Kutas ranks 83rd in pass block grade with a 47.8 and 72nd in run block grade with a 56.3.
Though Kennedy's offensive line struggled last season, he did coach a unit that helped lead the way for the No. 7 rushing attack in the country (236.5) in 2022-23 and 2021-22 (227.8).
Those units also allowed fewer sacks, as starting quarterback KJ Jefferson was sacked 2.31 times per game in 2022-23 and 2.38 times per game in 2021-22.
Arkansas must work to fill the offensive line coach vacancy quickly, as the Razorbacks are prioritizing recruiting offensive linemen in the NCAA transfer portal according to Pittman.
"Well, you’ve got to go in the portal," Pittman said after the loss to Missouri. "I look back at Auburn coming in here, I think 4 of their 5 were from the portal and I think 7 of their top-8 o-linemen were transfers. There’s an opportunity to do that, and we’ve got to get better with the ones that we have here, as well.
"You don’t have to be a football coach to know that we need help, so we have to go and address that and that will be our no. 1 place to address because without that you really can’t have a lot of success offensively, and with that you can have a whole bunch of success. We’ve got to get it fixed, and that’s nothing negative about the kids we have, we just have to get that one fixed. I think everybody knows that."
