FAYETTEVILLE – Last Monday, Arkansas offensive line coach Dustin Fry was candid in telling reporters why he chose to sign a pair of heavily-recruited JUCO tackles last December.
Fry’s position group dealt with low numbers last fall, and he didn’t want his returning players thinking they would just be handed a starting job without being pushed in 2019.
“We signed two JUCO tackles for a reason, and it was to piss off my other tackles,” Fry said.
Those two junior college additions were Myron Cunningham of Iowa Central Community College and Chibueze Nwanna of Lackawanna (Pa.) Community College, both of whom had plenty of notable options before signing with the Razorbacks.
Through three practices in fall camp, both Cunningham and Nwanna are still running with the second-team offensive line.
Cunningham appears to be closer to cracking the starting rotation in some capacity, but Nwanna is one step closer after redshirt-freshman right tackle Noah Gatlin suffered a torn ACL last week.
Nwanna, 6-7, 325, now finds himself in a battle with redshirt-sophomore starting right tackle Daulton Wagner.
“This is all about competition. Throughout high school, I’ve always been competitive,” Nwanna said. “That’s the reason they brought me here. Nothing is handed to you. You’ve always got to be ready to compete. He brought us here for more competition. Like he said, nobody’s spot is safe. We’re having competition and it’s bringing out the best in everybody on the offensive line. We can be better as a unit.”
Nwanna, who is originally from Hyattsville (Md.), played primarily left tackle in junior college but is starting to settle in on the opposite side.
“I’m most comfortable at left tackle, but playing in this league you’ve got to be ready to go either way and be versatile,” Nwanna said. “I’ve played right tackle so far, but I’ve just got to get used to kicking off that foot better, posting, and run-blocking on that side. So far, I take it day by day and get better. I played some right tackle in the spring too, so I think I’ll be alright.”
Gatlin’s injury came as a big blow to an offensive line that was finally creating comfortable depth at the tackle positions, but Nwanna could relieve some of Fry’s stress if he continues to improve.
“Our relationship is very good. He’s very understanding,” Nwanna said. “Like, just the fact that I’m far from home and stuff like that, he’s very understanding of that, but he takes his time when it comes to plays and stuff. He takes his time explaining it to me, he makes sure I understand it. If there’s anything I have to walk through, I go to him personally and ask. He helps me out and he’s very understanding when it comes to that.”
Nwanna has also grown close with Cunningham, who is currently behind senior Colton Jackson at left tackle but could emerge as a starter at guard at some point.
“Myron’s cool,” Nwanna said. “I spoke to him on my visit, then after the first couple of months here we started hanging out a lot. We’ve built a close relationship. We joke around, we talk about how our teams were supposed to play each other in the (JUCO) bowl games. He’s a good person and I think we have a close relationship.”
Nwanna and Cunningham will continue to push for playing time as the Razorbacks roll on through the first full week of fall camp. Arkansas is expected to hold its first scrimmage of the camp on Saturday, currently scheduled to be closed to the fans and media.