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Arkansas Hires Buffalo Bills' Kurt Anderson To Be Offensive Line Coach

There were unofficial reports throughout the day that this would be happening, but now it's for real. Kurt Anderson is coming to Fayetteville to be Arkansas' new offensive line coach.

By Doc Harper
@RazorbackFB

Here's what we've been able to gather on Anderson since the first reports of his hire were released earlier Saturday morning.

His twitter handle is @OLINEPRIDE, which is fantastic.

He comes most recently from the NFL, where he was the Assistant Offensive Line coach for the Buffalo Bills. His previous college experience comes as an assistant at Eastern Michigan from 2008-2012, and as a graduate assistant for Lloyd Carr's last couple of Michigan teams in 2006 and 2007. He played for the Wolverines in the late '90s, including the Citrus Bowl team that beat Arkansas following the 2008 season.

The biggest question with this hire is obviously his lack of recruiting experience. It is a fair concern, especially when he's replacing what most consider to be the best recruiter on Arkansas' staff. There's nothing on his resume that will likely quell those questions, but it's not hard to find quotes from players and coaches who've loved working with him.

"This is a great opportunity for Kurt. Arkansas will be a great fit for him," said former Razorback and current Buffalo Bill Chris Gragg. "He is a great young coach with a lot of energy and fire. I loved working with him at the Bills and know players at Arkansas will feel the same."

There are these from Syracuse.com

"Kurt is like one of the guys, man," [Seantrel] Henderson said. "When he speaks about things, it's a little easier to understand. I like being around him, you know what I'm saying? He's always enthusiastic, always pumped up."

......

"He's perfect for an offensive lineman," [Richie] Incognito said. "He's been around the position. He knows what we're like. He strikes the right chord with a lot of us and we can really relate to him. We're a little bit different breed than the rest of the guys on the team."

......

Anderson's enthusiasm on the field rubs off on the coaching staff, too. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman pointed to Anderson's passion and work ethic as reasons why he'll be a head offensive line coach in the NFL before long. There's a reason Rex Ryan wanted to keep him on staff and why he didn't hesitate to discipline Kromer.

"We're happy to have Kurt on our staff, I can tell you that much," Ryan said.

He drinks six cups of coffee a day, which apparently helps him keep working late into the night.

Also, being a Michigan alum, Anderson has plenty of tweets jabbing at Ohio State. You know this is probably something Bielema really appreciated about Anderson. We can also gleam from his Twitter account that he's a fan of the Chicago Blackhawks, can make homemade Chicago deep dish, enjoys WWE. Also a big believer in the victory cigar.

Seems like a cool guy. I don't think we need to ask why Bielema hired him. Seems pretty self-explanatory.

Here's a link to the official press release.

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