Last offseason, Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman brought in two tackles out of the transfer portal who were supposed to bookend the Razorbacks’ revamped offensive line.
Fernando Carmona locked down the left tackle position and performed well after arriving from San Jose State, but Michigan State transfer Keyshawn Blackstock followed a much bumpier path.
The Covington, Ga., native reportedly sat out one practice during fall camp last year because of a dispute over NIL payments. Then, after starting the first six games at right tackle, he was moved inside to left guard and eventually replaced by Patrick Kutas.
Despite the Hogs’ top-10 finish in total yardage, the offensive line left a lot to be desired. Quarterbacks Taylen Green and Malachi Singleton were sacked 2.77 times per game, a mark that ranked a lowly 111th out of 134 FBS teams. Pittman again revamped the trenches this offseason, bringing in left tackle Corey Robinson (Georgia Tech), center Caden Kitler (UCF) and right tackle Shaq McRoy (Oregon).
Carmona moved inside to left guard to accommodate Robinson. Blackstock, on the other hand, will be playing a substantially different role this season.
The Head Hog revealed during the first episode of Sam Pittman Live of the season that the redshirt senior would be switching positions to defensive tackle.
Musical Chairs in the Trenches
Robinson, Carmona and Kitler had locked down the left side and center of the offensive line, but the other two starting spots remained up for grabs heading into fall camp. Blackstock, Kobe Branham, E’Marion Harris and McRoy were expected to compete for those right-sided slots.
Blackstock’s position change essentially locks Branham in as the starting right guard, a position he won in spring ball before going down with a torn labrum. Now that the redshirt freshman is healthy again, all indications are that he’s once again secured that spot.
Harris is likely to begin his redshirt junior season as the starter at right tackle, with McRoy backing him up. In the event that Branham goes down with another injury, the Little Rock native has shown the ability to be a solid placeholder at guard. In that scenario, McRoy would slide into right tackle to complete the group.
Blackstock’s position change also speaks to the Razorbacks’ lack of depth at defensive tackle — particularly after David Oke went down with a knee injury that will sideline him for the start of the season. Journeyman senior Danny Saili has been a good surprise in fall camp alongside team captain and defensive anchor Cam Ball. But behind those two, it’s really only big Ian Geffrard in the rotation. Thus, Blackstock became the sacrificial lamb moving to the other side of the ball for some emergency depth.
Having to change positions as a fifth-year senior is obviously far from ideal for Blackstock, but Pittman’s decision makes a lot of sense given the tape from last year.
Keyshawn Blackstock’s Offensive Struggles
Blackstock was a recipient of frequent criticism last season, often becoming the scapegoat for poor offensive line play. The finger-pointing was justified, for the most part, given some of the head-scratching moments the Michigan State transfer had. He struggled mightily against Texas, wiping out 46 rushing yards by himself because of holding penalties. Blackstock was even called out by former Razorback tight end DJ Williams for some of his poor pass-blocking reps throughout the season.
It wasn’t just Arkansas fans and media members who took notice, either. Tensions came to a boiling point during the Texas A&M game, when star receiver Andrew Armstrong reportedly had an altercation with Blackstock that had to be broken up by Taylen Green.
Blackstock isn’t the first Arkansas lineman to change positions later in his career. Austin Capps played multiple seasons at defensive tackle before moving to offensive line for his last two seasons under Chad Morris, and Bret Bielema-era offensive lineman Cordale Boyd switched to from offensive to defensive line on a similar timeline. Kutas and former All-SEC guard Hjalte Froholdt both came to campus as defensive tackles before moving to offensive guard, though those swaps came when they were freshmen.
In Blackstock’s case, while the lack of depth along the defensive line played a role in the coaches’ decision, the reasoning almost certainly went beyond that. Getting called out by the SEC’s leading receiver for poor effort (with plenty of film to back that up) made him a prime candidate for the position change, especially as younger players like Branham and McRoy stepped up during fall camp.
The Hogs’ offensive line now appears to be set in stone — or, more accurately, in semi-permanent marker — as follows:
- LT – Corey Robinson II
- LG – Fernando Carmona
- C – Caden Kitler
- RG – Kobe Branham
- RT – E’Marion Harris
The hope is that Pittman’s latest quintet can do a better job of keeping Green’s jersey pristine when the season kicks off against Alabama A&M in less than two weeks.
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Arkansas OL & DL Rooms
Here’s an updated look at Arkansas’ offensive and defensive lines following Keyshawn Blackstock’s move…
Offensive Line
- Marcus Dumervil — sixth-year super senior
- Fernando Carmona — redshirt senior
- Corey Robinson II — redshirt senior
- ^Brooks Edmonson — redshirt junior
- E’Marion Harris — redshirt junior
- Caden Kitler — redshirt junior
- Bubba Craig — redshirt sophomore
- ^Aaron Smith — redshirt sophomore
- Kobe Branham — redshirt freshman
- Kavion Broussard — redshirt freshman
- Shaq McRoy — redshirt freshman
- Blake Cherry — freshman
- Kash Courtney — freshman
- LJ Prudhomme — freshman
- *Tim Dawn — redshirt junior
- *Payton Parks-Smith — redshirt junior
- *Alex Johnson — redshirt freshman
- *Jonas Nantze — redshirt freshman
Defensive Line
- Frank Mulipola — seventh-year super senior
- Cam Ball — redshirt senior
- Keyshawn Blackstock — redshirt senior
- Justus Boone — redshirt senior
- Phillip Lee — redshirt senior
- David Oke — senior
- Danny Saili — senior
- Ken Talley — redshirt junior
- Quincy Rhodes Jr. — junior
- Ian Geffrard — redshirt sophomore
- Kaleb James — redshirt sophomore
- ^Donovan Whitten — redshirt sophomore
- Charlie Collins — sophomore
- Kavion Henderson — redshirt freshman
- Caleb Bell — freshman
- Keiundre Johnson — freshman
- Kevin Oatis — freshman
- Trent Sellers — freshman
- Reginald Vaughn — freshman
*walk-on
^former walk-on
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