FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - Bret Bielema has made little secret of his desire to develop Arkansas’ offensive line into one of the most physical groups in the Southeastern Conference.
For a half, at least, the Razorbacks appeared well on their way toward Bielema’s goal in last week’s 45-21 loss at No. 6 Auburn.
Featuring a mixture of experience and youthful dominance, Arkansas controlled the line of scrimmage on its way to a halftime tie with the defending SEC champion Tigers.
The Razorbacks (0-1) withered under the Auburn heat and pressure in the second half, but the early effort showed how far they’ve come since last year’s 3-9 disaster - and they hope a glimpse of what’s to be expected when they host Nicholls State (0-1) on Saturday.
“Obviously, we’ve got to come out in the second half a lot better than we did, but in that first half I think everybody saw, not even the full show,” Arkansas guard Sebastian Tretola said. “Just a little something of how great this can be this year.”
Tretola is in his first year with Arkansas after signing out of junior college, the latest in a line of top linemen to sign with the Razorbacks since Bielema’s arrival. The California native considered the Razorbacks largely because of Bielema’s history as the coach at Wisconsin, where he coached offensive linemen Joe Thomas and Gabe Carimi to the Outland Trophy.
The 6-foot-5, 315-pound junior was so enamored with the physical style of offensive line play by the Badgers that he was in the stands when they lost to TCU in their first of three straight Rose Bowl trips in 2011.
Bielema’s history, along with the energy of Arkansas offensive line coach Sam Pittman, left little doubt where Tretola wanted to be.
“Really, they kind of made the decision kind of easier,” Tretola said.
Tretola didn’t start at Auburn, but he did play in the first half when the Razorbacks gained 151 yards rushing on 21 carries - a 7.2 per rush average. They couldn’t keep the pace up in the second half - gaining only two yards on eight attempts - but the tone was set for what’s expected moving forward.
“So the success we had in the first half, we are very pleased with what was going on physically out there,” Pittman said. “We are looking forward to it, and I think we can be quite a bit better than that, too.”
In addition to Tretola, Arkansas has added a host of talented newcomers on the offensive line under Bielema’s watch - including a pair of talented sophomores who started against Auburn.
Left tackle Dan Skipper and right guard Denver Kirkland each earned All-SEC honors last year as freshmen, and Bielema said both played one of their best games against the Tigers.
Kirkland said he graded out at 91 percent for the game, and the 6-foot-10, 316-pound Skipper continued to infuriate opposing defensive linemen with his unique blend of talent and antagonistic nature. That led Bielema to joke “We have got to calm him down … because he is going to become a marked man, not only with players, but with refs, too.”
While the Arkansas line does have a veteran presence in senior right tackle Brey Cook, senior guard Luke Charpentier and junior center Mitch Smothers, a pair of freshmen are expected to help solve any stamina concerns such as what happened against Auburn - sooner rather than later.
Center Frank Ragnow and tackle Brian Wallace earned high praise throughout the preseason, and Pittman said he expects the 6-foot-6, 292-pound Ragnow to play on Saturday.
He’s simply the latest in what Arkansas hopes becomes a pipeline of offensive line talent.
“Of course, it’s a challenge,” Nicholls State coach Charlie Stubbs said. “It’s a major concern. There’s going to be some tremendous mismatches.”
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