FAYETTEVILLE – University of Arkansas offensive lineman Josh Braun claims he has a 1.000 batting average when it comes to landing the recruits he mentored as a college player in Florida and Arkansas.

Braun has to use an asterisk to make that claim because Addison Nichols, whom he hosted at Florida during the 2021-22 recruiting cycle, signed with Tennessee rather than the Gators after graduating from Greater Atlanta Christian.

But now that Nichols is on board in Arkansas, Nichols says Braun hasn’t been missed.

“Now he can say he’s 100% behind the guys he’s hosted,” Nichols said last week in his first media session with the Razorbacks. “Everyone he’s hosted has gone where he’s gone. He feels that since he’s here, he’s 100% behind that because I came here and didn’t go to Florida, but regardless, we’ll give it to him and say it’s 100%.”

Braun, a transfer last season, and Nichols were rivals in the SEC East in 2022. Now they prepare to play alongside each other in next Thursday’s season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock in a Razorback front that could have transfer players at four of the five starting positions.

Fernando Carmona and Keyshawn Blackstock, the expected starting tackles, came from San Jose State and Michigan State, respectively, in the winter.

E’Marion Harris, a redshirt sophomore and Little Rock native, has been working as the top left guard in recent days since junior Patrick Kutas was slowed by a back injury during training camp. Both Harris and Kutas are original Hog recruits.

Braun started last year’s opening game at left guard and then moved to right guard for the final 11 games.

The 6-6, 338-pound native of Live Oak, Fla., said he knows Arkansas fans were frustrated with last year’s offensive weaknesses, many of which started up front, and he and the group under new assistant coach Eric Mateos want to turn things around.

“It’s a world of show and not tell, so we have to perform on Saturdays,” Braun said in his press conference two weeks ago. “We have to show the fans, we have to show all of you what we’re made of. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters. Whatever happened last year, we didn’t meet the Arkansas standard. That’s the goal this year.”

Nichols, the Hogs’ prospective center, said Braun was a memorable host and an entertaining story.

“That’s always a funny story that I like to tell people because we make fun of him because he’s really old,” Nichols said of the fifth-grader whose parents played sports in the Army and whose brothers were both offensive linemen at Georgia Tech.

“Yeah, that’s one of those things, when you talk to him, even if it’s the first time, you remember him. You remember who he is. He has a presence of his own and you just know what a great person he is. Even outside of football, he’s someone you like to be around.”

Nichols said Braun was “a nerd” but also like a father figure.

“He was honestly one of my favorite official visits because he was so different,” he said. “We went to a cafe and played chess. That’s what we did. I just thought it was the coolest thing because it was different. He knows what he likes and he knows if you don’t like it, ‘Well, I’m me.’ And I respect that a lot about Braun.”

Interestingly, Nichols lost touch with Braun last season and was unaware of his move to the Ozarks. Mateos, the new position coach, was Nichols’ de facto host during the winter when school was out, so Nichols was surprised when he showed up in the locker room and saw Braun.

“I honestly still thought he was in Florida,” Nichols admitted. “I hadn’t really heard much about him. Then I came here and I was like, ‘That guy looks familiar.’ Then they said, ‘Yeah, that’s Josh Braun.’ I was like, ‘Oh my god, that was my host in Florida!’ It took a second for it to click, but yeah, it was really cool to see him again.”

Braun and Nichols bonded over the idea of ​​playing for Coach Sam Pittman, and now that they are, with Mateos as their position coach, they are thrilled with the connection.

“Having the two of them together is a real powerhouse of knowledge on the offensive line,” Nichols said. “Being able to work with Coach Pitt on the field is something I’ve always wanted to do.”

“I wanted to play for him in Georgia. He recruited me right out of high school and I wanted to play for him in Georgia. Then of course he got the job here and in the end it didn’t work out.”

Braun is convinced that stronger cohesion throughout the team and within the offensive line will lead to more success on the field this fall.

“From my personal experience, I can say this is definitely the closest and tightest team I’ve ever been a part of,” Braun said. “That’s something special and something I appreciate, just being able to go to work every day with people that I love and that instill in me the love of the game.”

“Fall camp is tough, and when you’re not doing it with your brothers, when you’re not doing it with people that you love and care about and who care about you, it’s even worse. Getting here at 5:30 in the morning and there’s Luke Hasz, there’s Fernando picking me up and getting me ready for the day. It just makes a huge difference.”

Nichols said he was happy to play somewhere where he wouldn’t be nervous with the head coach around.

“I feel like a lot of coaches have to get nervous in some way,” he said. “You think, ‘Okay, the coach is around. You have to be all nervous and stiff.'”

“With Coach Pitt, that’s just not the case. He’s someone you really want to be around. He’s someone whose office you can sit in. … He’s just one of those guys, he’s just fun to be around, and when you walk into the portal, you know how incredibly intelligent he is at football, and you also know he’s a coach you want to play for.

“He’s someone you get behind and go to war for, respect and love and want to be around. He’s definitely one of those coaches where you see him and think, ‘Yeah, I can play for that guy.'”