By Jason Pattyson FAYETTEVILLE — During the 2023
Football season, critics and fans alike knew the glaring need this offseason was to replenish the offensive line with quality players that can impact now. Sam Pittman and new offensive line hire Eric Mateos knew this room needed to turnover before the 2024 fall camp begins in August. This would keep in line with what Pittman has stressed every off-season: if the room is not performing, then a plan needs to be implemented. So far, there are three transfer portal players and two freshmen, which the staff officially announced on Wednesday’s first day of the early signing period. This staff has little room for error, and they need to hit on most, if not all, of portal transfers Coach Mateos brought. The three portal players announced today were a pleasant surprise to Mateos, and he understands how to convey the message of what it takes to be the best at this position. “Keyshawn (Blackstock) obviously already was in the mix here,” Mateos said. “I tried to recruit him at Baylor and had no chance. So that was a good surprise when I got here,” Mateos said. “Then adding Addison (Nichols) and Junior Carmona, just guys that love football. That was the priority: guys who love to play the position and have a passion for playing the position. Have the makeup inside to do hard things because it is a thankless job. It’s a thankless position.” Pittman was familiar with Nichols from when he was an assistant at Georgia. “I think he might have been a sophomore if I’m remembering right,” Pittman said. “Freshman or sophomore. Very, very athletic. Very athletic. Now I’ll tell you, I thought he was going to be a college tackle.” Then, Pittman touched on the signing of Junior Carmona and Mateos, which was a significant factor in finding the new Razorback commit. “When Eric got the
Job, he turned on Carmona,” Pittman said. “Man, he’s a great kid; he’s big and very, very aggressive. Only played football. I think he played tight end maybe a year or something, and they moved him to tackle. But he’s, to me, he’s us. Him and Blackstock. Chip on his shoulder, aggressive. The old Dan Skipper, Travis Swanson, (Frank) Ragnow, (Sebastian) Tretola, that type of group. If I don’t mention Brey Cook, he’ll be mad at me. But those type guys.” He wanted to add one more interior lineman to the class with eight scholarships left, and he wanted to fill one more spot with a lineman that would fill the rest with other spots, mostly on the defensive side of the ball. “The next guy we want to go after is a guard who has the capabilities of snapping the football. Pittman said. “So, we’re going to go there. We may go two more, but we’re definitely going to go one more.” Pittman and Mateos know that if this 2024 season has any chance of being a step in the right direction then it starts up front. “We are going to add some more. We need them. Listen, you know what I’m getting ready to say. This has nothing to do with what we have,” Pittman said. “We were young. You look at (Andrew) Chamblee, (E’Marion) Harris, and (Patrick) Kutas; those guys are going to be really good players for us. They got thrown out there.”