The third in a series featuring newcomers to the University of Arkansas football program.
FAYETTEVILLE — At 6-5 and 332 pounds, there’s no doubt Kobe Branham has the physical makeup to be an SEC offensive lineman.
Kim Dameron, Branham’s head coach at Fort Smith Southside the past four seasons, said the University of Arkansas freshman also has the mindset the Razorbacks need.
“Kobe really loves to compete, and he’s got a nasty side to him,” Dameron said. “When he has a chance to pancake somebody, he doesn’t pull off.
“I mean, he wants to mash ’em into the ground and rough ’em up a bit and then get up and do it again. He’s what you’re looking for as far as his mentality.”
In 12 games at right guard last season for Southside, Branham had 56 pancake blocks and didn’t allow a sack while earning a 94.3% grade.
That type of production garnered Branham numerous scholarship offers and he narrowed his choices to Arkansas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and SMU.
“I think in the back of my mind, after I got the Arkansas offer, my feeling was, ‘I’m going to be a Razorback,’ ” Branham said. “But I was new to recruiting, so taking the visits was fun.
“I took all that in and enjoyed it, but when it came down to it, there’s no place like being up here in Fayetteville. It was a tight race between Arkansas and Ole Miss, but I for sure made the better decision.”
Branham’s last visit was supposed to be to Texas A&M.
“But I knew I wasn’t going to go to A&M, so I canceled that trip,” he said. “I didn’t want to waste anybody’s time.”
Branham said he was attending an Arkansas practice in the spring of 2023 when he got the scholarship offer from Coach Sam Pittman.
“Coach Pitt pulled me to the side and talked to me and made the offer,” Branham said. “It was kind of unexpected at the time, but I was really happy about it.”
Branham, who announced his commitment to the Razorbacks on June 26, 2023, was an early enrollee in January.
“I love him,” Pittman said of Branham on signing date in December. “I love big, athletic guys. I love his family. I tell you what, I think he’s going to be really special.”
Branham didn’t waste any time earning a spot on the depth chart and worked at second-team right guard throughout spring practice. He was the only true freshman on the Razorbacks’ two-deep roster.
“Coming up here, I knew I was going to have to really work, and I did,” Branham said. “When I got the second-string spot, that was great. I love being at right guard. I’m comfortable there and I think if I stay there for a year or two, I’ll continue to get better and I might even be a starter at some point in time.”
Branham played right guard his last two seasons at Southside after moving from tackle.
“It was more about learning plays and some new techniques,” Branham said of his progress in the spring. “But I already knew the fundamentals.”
Dameron, who is from Rogers and played receiver and defensive back at Arkansas from 1979-82, has 35 years of college coaching experience, including a stint in the SEC as safeties coach at Ole Miss from 2008-10. He also was head coach at Eastern Illinois in 2014-18.
“I’ve recruited (high-level) kids before. I know what they look like, and I knew Kobe could be a player in a league like the SEC,” Dameron said. “I’m hoping that he’s one of those kids that has a heck of a career at Arkansas, that he stays at Arkansas his whole career and then is able to go on and play in the NFL. Because I think he’s got that kind of talent.
“I like to think that the fact he came through our program got him ready somewhat physically and mentally to play at the next level.”
Dameron said what Branham did in the spring was impressive for a college newcomer.
“For Kobe to be able to do what he needed to run second-team, he had to learn a lot really fast,” Dameron said. “He had to learn a new language, learn a new coach, learn some new techniques.
“There’s carryover in some of the techniques and the footwork he did in high school, but there’s also the fact that he’s a fast learner and a smart kid. He eats it up.”
Branham played in all 12 games last season despite suffering a left knee injury in the fifth week against Fayetteville. It wasn’t until after the season Branham discovered he had been playing with a partially torn meniscus.
“I knew something was wrong, but to be a tear, I didn’t think it was that, because I could still play,” Branham said. “We finished the season and it was still bothering me, so I got it checked out, and I’d torn like half of it.”
Branham had surgery in late November.
“I didn’t miss any workouts or spring ball, so I’m glad we did it at the right time,” Branham said. “When I got up here, I was fully healed.”
Dameron said Branham also came back strong as a junior after injuring an ankle in preseason practice.
“He’s a tough kid,” Dameron said. “If there’s any way for him to play, he’s going to play.
“He’s not the kind of kid you have to worry about, ‘Is he going to show up? Is he going to be ready to practice?’ Believe me, he loves to play and practice.”
Pittman, a long-time offensive line coach, helped new offensive line coach Eric Mateos with drills in spring practice.
Mateos, a former Razorbacks graduate assistant for Pittman, was an assistant at Brigham Young and Baylor.
“It’s like having two O-line coaches with Coach Pitt being there with us a lot,” Branham said. “I think it was a more productive way of doing things because we could split up and everybody got a whole bunch more reps.
“Nobody’s going to tell you anything wrong, because Coach Pitt knows what he’s talking about and Coach Mateos does, too.”
The first college coach to offer Branham a scholarship was Arkansas offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, but it was in January 2023 when Petrino was Texas A&M’s coordinator.
“When Coach Petrino called me with an offer after my junior season, that was great,” Branham said. “But then to get an offer from Arkansas after Coach Petrino came here, that was even better.
“I built a good relationship with Coach Petrino when he was at Texas A&M, and then that just carried over to Arkansas. He’s with the quarterbacks most of the time, but he’s got his eyes on everything on the offense.”
Cody Kennedy was Arkansas’ offensive line coach when Branham committed. But after Kennedy went to Mississippi State and Mateos took his place, Branham said he had no second thoughts about signing with the Razorbacks.
“Coach Mateos, I love that dude,” Branham said. “A week after he got hired, he was at my house. I think that showed a lot of respect, trying to build a relationship with me.
“Since I got up here he’s done nothing but help me out. He’s always there for you.”
Dameron said he wishes nothing but the best for Branham.
“He’s a great representative of not only his family, but Southside and the city of Fort Smith and the state of Arkansas,” Dameron said. “Hopefully the fans in the state of Arkansas know that’s the kind of kid we love to have play for the Razorbacks.”