Brown confident offensive line can lead Bears
CONWAY - No one appreciates the value of a solid offensive line more than a quarterback, or former quarterback in this case.
So when University of Central Arkansas head coach Nathan Brown, an All-American signal caller at UCA, says he likes what he sees out of his Bears up front through the first week of fall camp, you tend to believe him.
“In every conversation I’ve had leading up to this season, I’ve said the O-line is a strength position for us,” said Brown, who had the privilege of playing behind All-Conference linemen such as Lane Friewald, Brad Gordon, Jeremy Ford, Austin Emerson and Will Merritt. “When you have, really, five or six guys who have starting experience up front, you’re in great shape.
“Coach (Gunnar) Boykin has done a great job with those guys, getting them prepared this summer. They’ve worked their tails off to take even another step forward. Because there toward the end of the year, you’re going to be leaned on as an offensive line. I’ve told those guys from Day 1, that if we’re going to make deep runs in the playoffs, it’s going to be on your backs.
“They have to understand that, they have to take that pressure and run with it. And having the experience we have, it’s huge. You’re not having to develop a bunch of new guys who haven’t been in the mix of a Southland Conference race or the grind of a college football season. We have those guys.”
The four full-time returning starters include tackles Hunter Watts and Dylan Desper, center Toby Sanderson and guard Adrian Harris. Brown said if you want to build an offensive line around an anchor-type guy, there’s none better or bigger than Watts, a 6-foot-8, 330-pound senior from San Antonio, Texas.
“It starts with our four upperclassmen,” said Brown. “Hunter Watts at left tackle is a preseason All-Conference player. He’s as big a mountain of a man as I’ve ever seen. You know, with a great year, he’ll have a chance to play at the next level. His job here is to protect that blind side of our quarterbacks and he can certainly do that. He can be as good as he wants to be. He is that gifted and has that much talent.
“I truly believe in Hunter and what he is. I sleep well at night knowing he’s protecting the blind side of our quarterbacks.”
Harris, a 6-3, 300-pound junior from Tyler, Texas, is a preseason All-SLC selection, who started all 11 games as a redshirt freshman two years ago and eight last season before an injury.
“Adrian Harris at left guard, he has the most playing experience of all our guys. He’s a two-year starter going on his third year,” Brown said. “Adrian is a juice guy, he’s a guy that gets us going up front. He has a lot of passion for the game. And he’s one of the more extreme offensive lineman athletes I’ve been around. Very athletic kid. He can really help you in both the pass game and run game with his athleticism. But he also possesses a lot of strength.
“Very excited to watch Adrian as he pushes forward this year. He’s probably the team leader up front as far as vocally and getting those guys going.”
The center position is in the capable of hands of junior returning starter Toby Sanderson (6-2, 295).
“You always have to have a great center and Toby Sanderson is that guy for us,” Brown said. “He’s a preseason second-team All-Conference guy who started every game last year and was very solid for us. He’s made it a point to gain a little more weight this offseason, to put himself in a position to be a little more dominant. And especially as you get late in the year, you want to be able to physically still be playing at your highest level in November and December. And Toby has done a great job in getting himself and his body ready for that.”
Desper (6-4, 300), a junior from Madison, Miss., started 10 of 11 games last season after transferring from Jones County Community College.
“He’s another guy who put an emphasis on gaining good weight this offseason and he’s done that,” said Brown. “Desper is a team you could give me a team full of guys like him, with his personality, because he just goes out there and goes to work. Very good football player on the right side protecting and he’s going to be a great asset to us.”
One of the part-time starters a year ago is sophomore right guard Jaylen Hendrix (6-4, 330), who gained valuable experience as a true freshman.
“He may be the most talented one of the bunch,” Brown said. “He’s a true sophomore who was forced into playing the last six or seven games last year when Adrian Harris went down. He’s a very, very good football player. I think you could play him inside, outside, anywhere other than probably center, and he would play and be good at it.”
Other returning players who will definitely be in the offensive line rotation are sophomore Cameron Webb (6-4, 310), sophomore Sanderson Hines (6-2, 295), sophomore Will Burgess (6-5, 345) and redshirt freshman Caleb Jones (6-3, 305).
“We have a bunch of other guys who have got different levels of experience,” said Brown. "Cameron Webb at right tackle has a chance to be a good player. And then some guys you are looking at to take another step, like Sanderson Hines at center and guard. And Will Burgess and Caleb Jones will be counted on.”
Brown and his staff welcomed three highly anticipated freshmen linemen to campus this summer in Parker Ray (6-4, 310, Columbia, Mo.), Chandler Knandel (6-5, 310, Aledo, Texas) and Josh George (6-3, 310, Benton).
“We’re excited about those three freshmen we signed,” said Brown. “I think all three of them will be competing for rotation time, they’re that talented. One, because they are just physically ready to play. All three of those guys weighed in at over 310 pounds. And two, they all three have great mentalities, they’ve been coached in great systems.”