Former Florida Gators offensive lineman Joshua Braun has committed to Arkansas after officially visiting the Razorbacks over the weekend
“This is a great place,” Braun said. “These are some of the most avid fans I've seen. It's a great situation. They were telling us the University of Arkansas football team is the biggest football team, sports venue in the state. There's no pro teams and no other Power 5 school. We can tell they are the pride of Arkansas.
“Just to be able to put on for a state like Arkansas and the fan base would be amazing and quite the experience. I'm looking forward to being involved in Fayetteville and the university and sports.”
His wife Azucena and his parents accompanied him to Fayetteville.
Braun, 6-6, 335 pounds, was committed to Sam Pittman at Georgia before he left to become the coach at Arkansas. He flipped his pledge to Florida and then-head coach Dan Mullen.
He announced Oct. 18 his plans to transfer from the Gators after playing in 11 games as a freshman, 13 games as a sophomore, including 7 starts, and in 2 games this fall.
He plans to play guard at Arkansas. Braun was a consensus 4-star prospect and was rated as high as the No. 11 offensive tackle in the nation by ESPN for the 2020 class as a senior at Suwannee High School in Live Oak, Fla.
Braun, who plans to enroll in January, is elated to be reunited with Pittman.
“It's fantastic. When he was recruiting me at Georgia he was very up front with me that the only job was the head coaching job at Arkansas,” said Braun, who was also familiar with Razorbacks offensive line coach Cody Kennedy, who was a graduate assistant at Georgia in 2018. “It was kind of his dream, so to see him achieve his dream and to be able to a part of him having success in a place he loves so much will be tremendous.
“I'm looking forward to being on his team and helping him win championships.”
Braun’s brother Parker was a first team All-ACC offensive lineman in 2017 and 2018 at Georgia Tech before being a starter at Texas in 2019 as a grad transfer. His brother Trey was also an offensive lineman at Georgia Tech from 2011-15.
Braun’s parents attended Army in the late 1980s. His father Mike was a lineman and his mother Karen was a captain for the basketball team.
He considered Florida State, Central Florida, Penn State and Oklahoma State after announcing plans to transfer. He took unofficial visits to Florida State and Central Florida after entering the portal.
“There was some others out there, but I didn't want to go too crazy with it,” Brain said of other schools. “I only wanted to go to places I was comfortable with. At the end of the day, Arkansas is the place I'm most familiar with, comfortable with and where I want to be the next 2-3 years.”
Because of covid-19, Braun has three years of eligibility at Arkansas.