Rebuilding the offensive line is one of the top priorities for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff after losing four of last year’s starters, including an All-SWAC First Teamer in Ryan Atkins.
Left tackle Christon Love is UAPB’s only returning starter. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound senior will be tasked with anchoring a line which will otherwise lack significant collegiate playing experience.
UAPB must replace Atkins, Rolando Jones, Thomas Prater and Calvin Lester III, who each departed due to either graduation or the transfer portal. Lester, of note, entered the transfer portal during spring practice and went on to sign with Mississippi Valley State.
Losing so many players at once left UAPB shorthanded in the spring. After April’s spring game, head coach Alonzo Hampton said three players on the No. 1 offensive line that day were walk-ons.
UAPB has a few options to replace Jones at starting center. Freshman Jamarkius Garrett was listed as Jones’ backup at the start of last season. The 6-foot-1, 293-pound product of East Poinsett County High School played center during the spring game, as did Pine Bluff native Bryce Lusk, who is listed at the same height but one pound heavier. Lusk didn’t play last year but played four games in 2022.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
During spring practice, Garrett was a player Hampton said impressed him.
“Kid was a walk-on, picked up about 25, 30 pounds,” Hampton said. “He’s busted his tail, man, every single day, giving great effort. Got about two or three guys that we feel we can win with, but we gotta add some more.”
One of the first transfer commitments UAPB received after the spring was from Steven Wakefield, a graduate transfer from Division II Savannah State. Wakefield, listed at 6-foot-1, 280 pounds, played center at SSU. He appeared in five games last year and seven the year before.
UAPB brought in two transfers who could compete at right tackle. Jeremiah Rodgers, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound redshirt junior from Division II North Carolina-Pembroke, played the position during the spring game.
In June, UAPB picked up a commitment from another DII lineman, R’Keavius Barnes from Benedict College. Barnes is listed at 6-foot-2, 290 pounds. Neither Barnes nor Rodgers saw significant playing time at their DII schools.
The Golden Lions have plenty of options at guard, albeit none with much collegiate playing experience.
Pine Bluff native Daniel Bostic, listed at 6-foot-3, 300 pounds, played in four games last season, the most among returning linemen other than Love. He began his career at Arkansas Baptist before transferring to UAPB in 2022.
The biggest lineman on the roster is Elijah Hardin, who is listed at 6-foot-6, 381 pounds. The Forrest City product appeared in two games last year.
UAPB signed three high school offensive linemen in February, with each playing guard their senior years. Randall “Tank” Davis won two state championships with Little Rock Parkview. He is joined by Sylvan Hills’ Jaden White and Conway’s Qauayaser Whitehead.
Whoever ends up starting on the UAPB line, that group will be critical as Hampton tries to rebuild the program. Last season, UAPB’s line gave up 39 sacks, second-most in the SWAC. UAPB’s rushing attack averaged 134.9 yards per game, which ranked eighth in the league.
The job of improving those numbers falls partially to offensive line coach Steve Wallace, who was promoted to run game coordinator this offseason. Wallace called the plays in UAPB’s final two games last fall after then-offensive coordinator Bobby Acosta had surgery. With Wallace in charge, UAPB scored a season-high three rushing touchdowns to go with 198 rushing yards in the season finale, a 35-34 win at Texas Southern.