FAYETTEVILLE — If all things are equal at quarterback — and that if is bigger than Bret Bielema’s massive personality — the football team with the best tackles wins most.
If anyone gets that, the new Arkansas coach does. Bielema described himself as a defensive lineman “trapped in an offensive line body” at Wednesday’s signing day media briefing before he described Denver Kirkland, Reeve Koehler and Dan Skipper as his “big” targets in his two months on the job.
The 6-foot-10 Skipper is listed as an offensive tackle. Kirkland played tackle in high school, but will probably join Koehler at guard with the Razorbacks. It was about relationships with new UA coaches Sam Pittman, Jim Chaney and Randy Shannon for the three “big nasties” in the 2013 class.
Pittman and Chaney had Skipper and Koelhler committed at Tennessee and used that relationship to flip them to the Hogs when they changed jobs. Shannon’s ties in Miami helped the Hogs win Kirkland away from Florida State with his live ESPN announcement Wednesday morning.
“I definitely think line play is critical,” Bielema said. “Everyone talks about the wide receivers and the defensive backs, all the pretty guys on the edges. But it’s what happens up front.
“We went after offensive linemen this year. It wasn’t so much about defensive linemen because I think we are set there for next year.”
Chaney, the offensive coordinator coach, has two new quarterbacks in the new class to make him happy. But he was gushing about the line additions.
“We have a head coach who gets trench warfare,” Chaney said. “With the spread there are some things you can do in space to help yourself in today’s game as far as tempo and matchups. But, at the end of the day, it’s about who can protect the guy standing back there.
“Getting Kirkland, ain’t that fun to get that big guy. To play competitive football in the SEC is hard. It’s been my experience that it’s hard to find tackles like him. Those tackles are so valuable.
“It meant everything to get Kirkland today. Pittman and Shannon worked so hard. Now we just need to get Pittman to coach them.”
Chaney is not worried. He picked Pittman to follow him from Tennessee when Bielema asked him for O-line recommendations. Pittman got a lot of credit for fine tuning a good UT offensive line in just one season.
“Chaney and the guys before me played those guys as freshman, three or four of them, too,” Pittman said. “I benefited from that. And these guys are very talented, so we could play them next year.
“If the guys we are returning are good, it could take them longer. But those three, they are going to play a lot of games here.”
Center Travis Swanson, the bell cow of the returnees, was a big help in the recruiting process.
“We’ve got good kids in what we have coming back,” Pittman said. “I know they are going to do well with our strength program and they are going to have 15 more practices than the new guys. Swanson is a great one. He worked hard in recruiting. The first meeting I had with him, we had Koehler and Skipper coming in for their visits.
“I said we needed some help in hosting. He said, ‘You can count on me, coach. I’ll take one of them.’ Not a lot of seniors do that, put in the time in recruiting. He did.”
Pittman said the goal was to go after the best offensive linemen in the country. It was unique that he recruited Skipper and Koehler twice.
“You rarely do that,” he said. “It makes you feel pretty good to pull it off. We had Skipper committed (at Tennessee), but then he kinda blew up. They are all three very talented and very smart.”
Shannon had the in on Kirkland, but there was still some disbelief when the Hogs won him over Florida State.
“(Kirkland) called me 30 minutes before he made the announcement (on ESPN),” Pittman said. “I was in Randy’s office and we got to dancing around. I didn’t know if I believed it. I mean, I believed him, but we are still a long way from Miami. I knew it for sure when he started his announcement with the ‘university of’ because you don’t say the University of Florida State.”
It was clear Bielema’s excitement level went up when he narrated the offensive line video for the media. When Koehler pancaked a tackle, Bielema said, “He’s finding out what 300 pounds of Hawaiian feels like on him.” As Kirkland shoves someone down with a push in the back, he said, “I like it when an offensive linemen does that.” As Skipper followed a back down field and leaps a pile for a block, Bielema said, “Coach (Chris) Bucknam may want him as a hurdler.”
Chaney knows what is required to play in the SEC.
“You need big,” he said. “We accomplished that part of it today. We got big. I’ve heard Coach Bielema say that you need big to play in this league. That’s his statement.
“We have known Reeves and Skipper for a long time and Randy had the relationship with Kirkland. I can tell you recruiting offensive linemen, it’s all about relationships.”
Perhaps you can say it’s really big.
Clay Henry is publisher of Hawgs Illustrated, an NWA Media publication.