Old man Branham ready to challenge for spot at right guard

"[Kobe is] great, great. He did everything, every independent drill, every team, great, great," Pittman said Saturday. "It's fun to have competition. Like legit competition, it's fun to see it and that's what we have. Getting Kobe back certainly does help that as well."

Branham has been well coached going back to his days at Southside, being tutored by former Razorback receiver and college coach Kim Dameron, which probably played a role making him college ready out of high school.

“He's big. He's got great balance. I mean, he really does. He has great balance," Pittman said." I'm gonna say it, he loves the Hogs. He loves being here. He was a highly recruited guy as well. But he's big, he's physical, he's got good feet, and he loves to play. He has all the tools, and you put that together, and a guy that really loves where he's at and loves the game, he's going to be pretty good.

While Branham missed time during the spring, it's clear Pittman is very confident in the redshirt freshman's ability to challenge for a starting spot on the right side of the line this fall.

"Obviously, we wish we had him in spring. We [didn’t]. So now we've got to amp up a little bit on him to find out exactly where he's at. But we have 24 now practices to figure it out. But he's a good player, a big, physical guy."

Branham spent time this offseason putting together a football camp in Fort Smith which resulted in a great turnout with a handful of teammates such as Taylen Green, Fernando Carmona, K.J. Jackson, Caden Kitler C.J. Brown on hand to help out.

Giving back to his community is something learned from his father, Jerad, who is the town's athletic director at the local Boys and Girls Club.

Pittman isn't the only person within the football program openly praising Branham either. Senior left guard Fernando Carmona is impressed by his maturity and old man approach that sets him apart from the younger linemen.

"He's like a like a fifth-year senior. I don't know how. He's such a young guy, but he just has such an old mentality," Carmona said Friday. "Maybe that's because his pops played Division I and he's helped him out. But he's truly an old head out there.

"The way he knows his playbooks, the way he leads at such a young age, it's something you hardly ever see. So, he brings a great presence out there, and it's really nice to have him back out there because I've always said he's going to be an Arkansas great. And it's just great to have him back out there bringing that energy and just being that leader for how young he is."

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