Experience Making Brown’s Life More Comfortable in Bears’ OL

CONWAY, Ark. — No introductions were needed in Central Arkansas’ offensive line room heading into the 2024 season.

The Bears return all but two players from last year’s offensive line, a group that helped the Bears average more than 400 yards of total offense and 31.5 points per game during the 2023 season. UCA returns highly-regarded guard Will Diggins, a 6-foot-4, 325-pound junior from Bryant, Ark., and senior Justin Lairy (6-3, 305) from Madison, Miss., along with six others with starting experience.

“We are in probably as good of preseason shape as we’ve been in several years,” said UCA coach Nathan Brown. “It starts with a couple of guys. You’re talking about all-conference caliber players manning your left side in Will Diggins at left guard and (senior) Justin Lairy at left tackle. To me, if you have those two guys walking out of the tunnel every Saturday, and on the same side, you ought to be able to handle guys on the left side of the defense.

“Justin has basically been a four-year starter, which is hard to find in the offensive line. Will is going on a three-year starter and his accolades follow him. Freshman of the Year in the ASUN two years ago, All-Conference and All-American as a sophomore. Those two are your bell cows up there.”

Brown is just as excited about several other returnees.

“At right guard, (junior) Jamal Mull is going into his second year starting,” he said. “He’s 6-foot-5, 320 pounds, just a physical presence in the middle. And at right tackle, we’re in a great spot there, too. We’ve got some guys who are battling over there. We have (sophomore) Frazier Rose (6-6, 305) coming off a big, significant injury. He’s hit or miss right now. It’s still up in the air a little bit with Frazier. But when he’s good to go, we’ll be excited to get him back out there. He’s been a starter and we know what he can do.

“We have a guy like (sophomore) Zach Cochnauer, who’s going into his third year here, 6-5, 310 pounds. A kid from Minnesota, he filled in great in the spring for Frazier. (Senior) B.K. Collier has started games at right tackle. He’s probably started 15-16 games for us and he’s not even slotted as a starter right now. So we’re in a good spot at that position with our depth.”

The biggest question mark may be in the middle, with the loss of graduating senior center Josh George and backup Jacob Cox, but Brown said they think they have found their replacement.

“We have to replace Josh George, but that’s really the only position we’re having to replace on the offensive line from last year’s starting group,” said Brown. “That’s a spot that a guy like (junior) Dillon Spencer (6-5, 320), who we brought in at Christmas, can fill. He started out at the University of Missouri and ended up back at Northwest Mississippi and we were fortunate enough to sign him. He was a high school teammate of Justin Lairy.

“Dylan is a physical presence. To me he might be the most talented guy up there, and that’s saying something. And when it’s your center that could possibly be that guy, you’re onto something special.”

The size in the offensive line room is impressive, with an average of well over six feet and 300 pounds.

“With the guys we have up there — Spencer at 6-5, 320, Diggins at 6-4, 325, Mull at 6-5, 320 — when you have those guys inside, you ought to be able to move some real estate,” said Brown. “And when you have the kind of running back room that we think we have, hopefully that offensive line is putting us in a position where we can only throw it when we want to, not when we have to. Because we want to run the ball and be physical.”

Brown said the depth behind the above listed group is solid as well.

“(Sophomore) Chaylin Peine is in Year 3, similar to Zach Cochnauer,” he said. “He’s definitely going to factor into the mix. A guy like (redshirt freshman) Caleb Shirron, the second-year player out of Cabot, (redshirt freshman) Joey Dickson, second-year player out of McKinney (Texas) Boyd High School. Those are young players who could really push for some time. I’m excited about them. (Redshirt freshman) C.J. Rayborn from Southaven, Miss., is another one, a tackle from a great program over there.

“We’re in a good spot on the offensive line. We’re as big and physical as we’ve been. I feel like I say that every year, but the numbers don’t lie. If you look at these guys, we’re starting to look like what you would think a big-time offensive line is supposed to look like. That’s a credit to Coach (Gunnar) Boykin and the way he’s recruited this group, a credit to development by Coach (Alex ) Fotioo and his strength staff, getting them bigger, faster and stronger once they get here.

“That’s a group that I feel like we can lean on with the experience we have, but also just the physical ability that they have as well.”

Information from UCA Sports is included in this story.