FAYETTEVILLE — Stand up straight with your hands at your side.
Now try touching your knees without bending over.
Can’t do it can you?
Probably can’t come close.
Who can?
Chibueze Nwanna — pronounced Cha-boy-zee Nah-wanna — can do it according to the man who was his junior college head football coach.
“When Chibueze first got here, we noticed how long his arms are and we started joking about it,” said Mark Duda, who coached Nwanna at Lackawanna Community College in Scranton, Pa. “We’d tell him, ‘Do the trick,’ and he’d start laughing and then he’d do it.
“The trick is that he can touch below his knees without bending. I mean, he can stand up straight and go below his knees with his hands.
“I don’t know what his wingspan is, but it’s unbelievable.”
Chibueze Nwanna At a Glance
CLASS Junior
POSITION Offensive Line
HEIGHT/WEIGHT 6-7, 330 pounds
HOMETOWN Hyattsville, Md.
JUNIOR COLLEGE Lackawanna (Pa.)
AGE 20 (born Oct. 22, 1998)
NOTEWORTHY Name is pronounced Cha-boy-zee Nah-wanna … Played at Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, Md. … Chose Arkansas over Maryland and Cincinnati … Enrolled at Arkansas in January and went through spring practice, where he worked at left and right tackle … Helped Lackawanna go 11-0 last season … Rated a 3-star recruit by Rivals and 247Sports … Parents are April and Teddy Nwanna.
Now the University of Arkansas Razorbacks are counting on Nwanna and his reach to help add talent and depth to an offensive line badly in need of both qualities.
Nwanna, a tackle who is 6-7 and 330 pounds, signed with Arkansas after last season, enrolled at the UA in January as a junior and went through spring football.
“Spring ball went good,” Nwanna said. “I had trouble with the plays at first, but as the spring went on, I started to get better about memorizing things more.
“I performed pretty well in the scrimmages and in the spring game. As time went on, I think I most definitely progressed.”
Arkansas Coach Chad Morris agreed.
“As spring went, he adapted and got better,” Morris said. “The speed at which we were asking him to play and the pace of the installs, he was having some catch-up to do.
“But man, the last three or four practices I really saw some good things out of him. I thought he had a really good spring game. He needs a great summer.”
Nwanna began spring practice working at left tackle, then switched to the right side for the final two weeks. He said he got a few first-team reps, but primarily worked at second-team right tackle behind Dalton Wagner, a redshirt sophomore.
It was an adjustment playing right tackle, Nwanna said, after he played mostly left tackle at Lackawanna.
“It was an interesting spring because switching from left to right tackle I had to get comfortable kicking off my opposite side foot,” Nwanna said. “I’m working on my technique and it’s getting better.
“The good thing is, by playing both sides, I’ll be more versatile. By the time the season gets here, I’ll be ready to make a difference for the offensive line.”
Nwanna enjoyed playing in the Red-White game.
“It was a good experience,” he said. “It helped me a lot just getting that in-game feeling. Being in the stadium and playing with your teammates like it’s a real game.”
Nwanna said his strength is pass blocking because of his reach.
“He has very long arms,” said freshman defensive end Eric Gregory, who went against Nwanna in spring practice. “With the way the can extend his arms in a body that big, he’s hard to get around.”
Arkansas offensive line coach Dustin Fry said he’s had some players with long arms, but none who compare to Nwanna.
“This is crazy length, this is NFL length,” Fry said on an Arkansas signing day video. “He can put his arms out and guys can’t get to him, and that’s huge in [the SEC] because you know how long those defensive ends are.
“Chibueze’s still raw, still has to grow and still has to get stronger, but with that frame he has and the type of kid he is and the type of work ethic he has, it’s only going to get better.
“He’s very smart and he understands football, and understands what he needs to do.”
Duda, a defensive tackle at Maryland and in the NFL with the Cardinals who has been Lackawanna’s coach since 1994, said the length of Nwanna’s arms is a huge asset for him.
“Long reach is something everybody’s looking for, and it’s something he certainly has,” Duda said. “He’s got a lot more room for error because he’s got so much more reach. He can put himself in a better position than most tackles.”
Nwanna, who is from Hyattsville, Md., chose Arkansas over Maryland and Cincinnati. He’s one of two junior college offensive tackles for the Razorbacks along with Myron Cunningham, who transferred to Arkansas in January from Iowa Central Community College.
“We both came from junior college, so we had a connection right there,” Nwanna said. “When we first got on campus, we talked a lot and got to know each other. We’ve built a good bond.
“It’s a blessing to be at an SEC school. You go from not receiving very much [attention] at your junior college to receiving a lot.”
Nwanna still is representing Lackawanna. When he sat down for an interview with a reporter earlier this summer, he wore a Lackawanna t-shirt and shorts.
“The majority of the time I wear Razorback gear,” he said. “But I like to wear my Lackawanna stuff from time to time.”
Nwanna’s attachment to Lackawanna is understandable. The Falcons were a combined 21-1 in his two seasons, including 11-0 in 2018.
“He had a pretty good experience at our place,” Duda said. “I’m glad he still feels a kinship towards us. That makes me feel good.”
Nwanna said he hopes winning so many games at Lackawanna will help him improve things at Arkansas, where the Razorbacks were 2-10 last season, including 0-8 in the SEC.
“It’s going to take other people as well — everybody working together,” he said. “But I’m happy to help and do my part. It’s all about how you face adversity and deal with it. Coming to a team that has something to work on, that’s a chance to overcome adversity.”
Nwanna was one of three starting offensive linemen for Lackawanna last season who signed with schools from Power 5 conferences. Tackle Anthony Whigman signed with Penn State and guard Darius Tisdale signed with Syracuse.
“We probably had the best offensive line in junior college to be honest with you, and Chibueze was a big part of that,” Duda said. “He just kept getting and better and better while he was here. By the end of it, he was a formidable guy.
“I think it’ll go well for him at Arkansas. He’s still learning the game of football, so it may be a year or so before he’s at his best. But his best might be pretty damn good.”