HawgBeat - Still major battle at left tackle for Arkansas
An ongoing battle at the left tackle spot remains for Arkansas after four games.
arkansas.rivals.com
The Arkansas Razorbacks still have one major position battle at left tackle as the team is four games into the season, and it doesn't sound like it will be decided soon.
Head coach Sam Pittman and the Hogs have seen both redshirt freshman Andrew Chamblee (6-foot-6, 304 pounds) and redshirt sophomore Devon Manuel (6-foot-9, 310 pounds) playing at left tackle through the first four games. Manuel entered fall camp as the starter, but an undisclosed injury allowed Chamblee to make up some ground and get the start in each of the first four games.
Both have played plenty this season, though Manuel did miss the BYU game in Week 3 with a stinger. After getting healthy enough to play, Manuel managed to see 54 snaps at LSU over the weekend compared to Chamblee's 17 snaps.
Despite Manuel playing a majority of the snaps against the Tigers, Pittman said there is still a major battle at left tackle.
"Obviously, game feel, matchups, things of that nature go into it," Pittman said. "I could sit here and tell you we're going to do this, this and this and we wind up doing the opposite. And I meant what I told you. There's still a major battle there."
After winning the starting job in the spring, Manuel has been fighting his way back since the undisclosed injury in fall camp. Not being able to consistently practice and strain at the level he needs to has been detrimental to Manuel's growth.
"Until that happens I don't know that we can do anything differently than what we're doing now trying to get them both ready to play and things of that nature," Pittman said. "If that happens we'll have to decide what we're going to do, but basically at the time that was going we felt like that was going to be the best way to win and that has nothing negative to do with Andrew. That's what we thought."
Manuel earned a 62.6 grade from Pro Football Focus for his performance at LSU on Saturday. According to PFF, Manuel gave up two sacks, one quarterback hit and three pressures on 30 total plays in pass protection. He earned a 64.2 run blocking grade on 24 plays of run blocking.
Chamblee gave up one sack, three hurries and four pressures on 12 snaps of pass protection. His run block grade of 72.0 on five snaps helped his overall grade up to a 52.6 against the Tigers. Chamblee's pass block grade is an abysmal 39.4 on the year.
While both had their struggles at LSU, it seems like Manuel played the better game. While Pittman didn't say it, a healthy Manuel likely has a slight edge on Chamblee.
The Razorbacks will take on the Texas A&M Aggies at 11 a.m. CT on the SEC Network on Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
