HOG CALLS

Kirkland eager to play with the big boys

Arkansas offensive guard Denver Kirkland talks with reporters Sunday, Aug. 11, 2013 during media day in Fayetteville.
Arkansas offensive guard Denver Kirkland talks with reporters Sunday, Aug. 11, 2013 during media day in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE - An innocuous question can evoke a telling answer.

Denver Kirkland’s answer told plenty about the Arkansas Razorbacks’ super-sized, super-hyped freshman offensive tackle from Miami.

Midway through Arkansas’ second week of preseason drills, a TV man asked: “Are you happy about your decision to come to Arkansas?”

Kirkland’s August response nearly frosted the video.

Politely but with the authority of a 6-5, 350 giant accustomed on the field to throwing his weight around, Kirkland replied: “Of course I am happy with the decision I made or I wouldn’t be here.”

He could have gone anywhere, especially his hometown school, the University of Miami, but a Razorbacks recruiting triumvirate blew him away from the Hurricanes.

Coach Bret Bielema, Randy Shannon, the linebackers coach who was pivotal as a Miami legendand former Miami head coach, and offensive line coach Sam Pittman convinced the Miami mammoth to visit Fayetteville.

The Arkansas folks and facilities did the rest.

“My main decision was just trying something different with my life because I had seen a lot of things in Miami and wanted to see something new,” Kirkland said.

After summer classes and conditioning and now into preseason practices, Kirkland fervently favors Fayetteville.

“The campus, the facilities and of course the people I have met, I really feel bonded to my teammates,”Kirkland said.

He already has moved to second-team right tackle, almost unheard of for a true freshman offensive lineman. Normally, freshman offensive linemen are redshirted and are plotted to peak as fifth-year seniors.

Bielema, Pittman and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney cast the customary caution flags about difficulties of freshman linemen playing immediately but certainly imply Kirkland is too skilled to sit for a season.

“Denver Kirkland is probably the most efficient pass pro [protection] freshman I’ve ever seen,” Bielema said. “He may be one of the best on our team. His feet are incredibly gifted, and he weighs 350. I’m just blown away by his athleticism.”

Still, playing offensive line straight out of high school supposedly is acutely difficult.

“It really is not that difficult,” Kirkland said. “You just have to grow up and be a man. It’s not highschool anymore. It’s not little kids. It’s grown men, and you just have got to grow up and get tough.”

So the difficulty isn’t grasping the X’s and O’s?

“It’s really more of that than X’s and O’s,” Kirkland said. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s the playbook, too. But it’s really like more getting tough.”

It’s especially tough practicing against senior preseason All-SEC defensive end Chris Smith and returning starter Trey Flowers on the other end.

“In high school you had played against some little guys that never had any big guys playing against them,” Kirkland said. “So going against these guys you are going against now, you have got to adjust to them.”

Once the games begin, given his potential, precocity and competitive ferocity, don’t be surprised to see those on the opposing defensive line requiring the most adjusting.

Perhaps by chiropractors.

Sports, Pages 22 on 08/17/2013

Upcoming Events