FAYETTEVILLE — Isaiah Nichols is proud of how far he’s come.
But like many athletes who strive to stand out and be among the best at what they do, Nichols is far from satisfied with where he currently stands. And that is saying something, especially when considering the redshirt senior has become one of Arkansas’ top defensive linemen.
A star at Springdale under former Razorbacks quarterback Zak Clark prior to signing with Arkansas, Nichols has been a staple along defensive coordinator Barry Odom’s front this spring.
There are no indications he is going to concede his place in the lineup.
“Isaiah has probably had the most productive (spring) — he and Taurean Carter — of any interior defensive linemen so far,” Odom said last Saturday. “He’s playing with great on-snap footwork, great eye discipline, great hand placement. And he’s playing at a high level.
“We’ve got to continue to work at that.”
Four days before Odom heaped praise on Nichols, Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman gave the 6-3, 302-pound lineman a shoutout for his growth throughout spring practices. An 11-game starter the last two seasons, he has spent the team’s 11 workouts and active off days focusing on the details.
Gaining ground on opposing linemen with his feet has been a point of emphasis, as well.
On Thursday, Nichols spoke about his development in such a way that it was apparent he is studying in great depth the technical side of the game. With an advanced grasp of his position and assignments, he is sure to play with power.
“The past couple of weeks I've been making sure when we take slant stuff into the zone or they're zoning stuff, I’ve overstepped and been getting out of my gap,” Nichols said. “I’ve got to get vertical. Just being consistent with my hands, flying off the ball being violent. Block destruction. Just the details and everything.
“I’m trying to fly into everything, just trying to be the most explosive player I can be.”
Nichols, who earned his first career start in Arkansas’ 2020 season opener against Georgia, finished with a career-high 24 tackles and 1 pass breakup that year. Last fall, he added 21 tackles and caused more havoc in the backfield with 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble.
In 2021, Nichols totaled six three-tackle outings, including five in the final seven games of the season. The Razorbacks were 5-1 in those games.
Should he remain in a prominent role up front, surpassing this fall his numbers of a season ago would not come as a surprise.
“He had, in the past, real trouble of bending and being able to have a second gas of getting off blocks, and I feel like he’s really improved that well,” Carter said of Nichols. “We worked on it over the offseason right after the season and we can definitely see the improvements of our work being put in and actually being put to action on the field.
“I really commend him every day that he’s getting really, really good.”
Nichols said his time at Arkansas has been an up-and-down journey. He has steadily seen more playing time each season, and, at his current level of play, will continue that trend in 2022.
Last season, he recorded the No. 16 defensive grade among SEC interior linemen, according to Pro Football Focus, at 69.7. It was a vast improvement over 2020, when he graded out at 51.0.
“I’m proud of (my game) in the sense that I'm getting better, but I think I have a lot more left, meaning a lot more growing to do,” Nichols said. “Just like anybody, the best have a lot more growing to do, too, so I try not to think too highly of what I've done and try to focus more on what I can do and what I can do better.
“I’m proud of where I've come from when I started four years ago. But, you know, my day-to-day focus is on what I can do to get better, how I can be better next practice — or next game or the next day — than I was the previous day.”