Why Arkansas' Offensive Line Fits Silverfield's Signature Concept Perfectly

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Arkansas Razorbacks had one of the best offensive line units, grading out as the No. 2 group in the country, according to Pro Football Network.

With three contributors gone, that leaves senior center Caden Kitler and redshirt sophomore Kobe Branham looking to lead the charge this season.

Arkansas added more than a handful of transfers out of the portal to shore up depth concerns with two of them being inserted into the rotation. Right tackle Bryant Williams was a top-100 transfer after not allowing a single sack last season for Louisiana and left guard Malachi Breland followed coach Ryan Silverfield after allowing just a single sack across 454 pass blocking snaps.

With Kitler and Branham back for another year, their SEC experience is invaluable going into the season, but which one of them is the true leader?

"I'd like to think I'm Batman since I'm a bit older," Kitler smirked at SEC Media Days. "We'll let the film decide that this year. How about that? No, [our leadership] has been huge for the offensive line.

"Showing the new guys what it takes to be an offensive lineman for the Hogs. We carry ourselves at a higher level than other position groups do because our offensive line had done historically well [last year]. It's a huge honor to play on the offensive line here."

Silverfield's Favorite Play

One of the easiest transitions of the offseason, at least for the line, is switching up blocking schemes from wide to mid-zone attacks in the run game.

With that has come the implementation of Silverfield's favorite play called the pin-and-pull where he wants every pin-and-pull concept to separate the defense along the edges rather than simply overpower them, especially in goal line situations.

Kitler's role in all of this will be pulling uncovered, looking to lay a hit on anyone who is in front of him. Once he seals the block along the edge, it will allow his running back to have the option of either bounce outside or cut underneath and then hit the accelerator to reach the endzone.

"Pin-and-pull is Silverfield's favorite play, it's a scoring play," Kitler said. "Hopefully, we can do good for him. Do it justice.

"I love pulling. I have a pretty high athleticsm and like to put that on display. Getting in space, blocking linebackers...I hate linebackers. It's cool, and I'm excited to be able to do it.

This isn't some new philosophy Silverfield put in his playbook, but one learned during his days in Minnesota where he was instrumental in helping former All-Pro Vikings running back Adrian Peterson come just a few yard shy of the single-season rushing record in 2012.

For Arkansas, it's a scheme that could create one-on-one opportunities for running backs like Braylen Russell and Sutton Smith to find room in the open field.

Kitler along with his comrade Branham have proven themselves mobile enough last year to get outside and locate defenders at the next level of the defense. Just last season, the Razorbacks had 84 rushing plays that exceeded more than 10 yards which ranked No. 10 nationally.

Arkansas was also one of only 10 teams in the country last year to produce more at least 10 run plays of at least 40 yards.

With Kitler back, there might be some growing pains, but the proof of proficiency is there for Arkansas to have success, not only with the pin-and-pull, but pave the way for more explosiveness under a new coaching staff this fall.

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