Breland’s Memphis know-how steadies Arkansas offensive line

The Ozarks baked under a heat index north of 100 degrees on Thursday and inside the Razorbacks’ fall camp the battle up front is running just as hot.

Offensive line coach Marcus Johnson met with reporters wearing a jacket soaked through with sweat and made clear that no job on his unit is settled yet.

“They know all positions are open right now,” Johnson said. “We’re competing at this moment in time in camp. Other guys have gotten opportunities. Brooks (Edmonson), Terence (Roberson Jr.) as well. We started it this week, mixing the guys around.”

Even with that competition churning, one five-man group has taken the bulk of first-team snaps all camp.

Broussard and Williams bookend the line on the edges, Branham and Breland fill the guard spots on either side of him and Kitler runs the show from center.

Johnson said depth still matters more than any five names penciled in for August, since the SEC grind tends to chew through a two-deep by November.

“You don’t know what’s going to happen throughout the course of the season,” Johnson said. “Knock on wood, but as we all know, it’s hard to start a season with five guys and finish with that same five. It’s a next guy up mentality, and that’s the approach as far as the room.”

Kitler, a fifth-year veteran listed at 303 pounds, has shown a knack this camp for reading the defense and getting the offense set before a blitz arrives.

Johnson said the center’s experience identifying fronts and making combo calls helps a group still learning to play together.

Breland leans on his Memphis roots

No lineman in that room carries more built-in knowledge of Arkansas’ new scheme than Breland.

The 334-pound senior spent three years playing for Ryan Silverfield before the coach took over the Hogs, and he made the move to Fayetteville right alongside him.

It became a reunion with offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey and offensive line coach Jeff Myers, giving him a head start most of his new teammates don’t have.

Breland’s college resume already includes 24 career games with 19 of them as a starter, a dozen of those coming last fall alone.

His pass protection stood out too, giving up only a single sack on more than 450 pass-blocking snaps. Johnson said he’s already seen that background pay off during walk-throughs.

“Saw it happen today in walk-through, Malachi correcting a kid on a call,” Johnson said. “He does a great job of pouring into the guys, and they ask him questions. He has a great understanding of what we’re trying to do, and he does a great job of passing it along.”

Breland said the scheme feels like second nature after so much time in it.

“I’ve been in the system for so long, so it’s kind of like this is second nature to me when I hear certain calls and stuff like that,” Breland said. “I already know it, so I just try to do it as best as I can, just relaying it to everybody else.”

He nearly didn’t end up in Arkansas at all. Breland considered entering the transfer portal after last season before choosing to stick with his Memphis coaching staff instead.

“I had plans on probably getting in the portal,” Breland said. “But I had a great relationship with Coach Silverfield, Coach Myers, Coach Cramsey and everybody. I didn’t want to go anywhere I had to learn a new system. I kind of just wanted to go somewhere where I knew the coaches already knew me, trusted me, knew the kind of player I was.”

Ready for the jump to SEC play

Breland’s résumé does include a few Power Four opponents. He faced West Virginia two years back and got minutes against Iowa State during his freshman year.

He was also on the Memphis team that upset Arkansas a year ago. Still, he knows a full season of SEC defensive lines is a different challenge entirely.

“I feel like it’s been preparing me for now,” Breland said. “Llike I’m prepared. I feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be. I feel like I just got to let everybody see me make plays.”

Johnson agreed, pointing to daily practice reps against Arkansas’ own defensive front as proof Breland and Williams are ready for the step up.

“I think they’re more than ready,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a solid D-line here, and they’ve shown that they’re more than able and capable of getting the job done.”

Kitler, who works alongside Breland up the middle, said the chemistry between the two is already paying off in walk-throughs.

“Malachi coming from Memphis knows the offense really well,” Kitler said. “Us three in the middle, we’ve been communicating really well. He corrected me on a call in the walkthrough. Still mess up sometimes, but it’s good having a guy that’s been an offense to get me straight sometimes.”

Camp keeps rolling into the weekend, with a scrimmage on tap before the Hogs get their first real test.

North Alabama comes to Fayetteville to open the regular season on Sept. 5, with kickoff at Razorback Stadium set for 3:15 p.m., and by then Johnson may finally have his five settled.

Key takeaways

• Arkansas hasn’t named official offensive line starters but Broussard Breland Kitler Branham and Williams have taken the bulk of first-team reps
• Breland’s three seasons at Memphis under Ryan Silverfield gave him a head start learning Arkansas’ new scheme and he’s already correcting teammates in walk-throughs
• Coach Marcus Johnson believes Breland and Bryant Williams are ready for SEC-level competition after facing Arkansas’ own defensive line all camp