Former Arkansas offensive lineman Brian Wallace dead at 26

Former Arkansas Razorbacks offensive lineman Brian Wallace has died, the school announced on Friday afternoon. Wallace suffered two heart attacks earlier this week and while spending time in the hospital, the former offensive tackle was in a coma and not breathing on his own, according to his father.

Wallace was 26 years old.

Spending five seasons with the Arkansas program, Wallace earned a starting role during the 2016 season under former head coach Bret Bielema. He went on to start in 29 games over a three-year stretch, also playing for Chad Morris. Wallace played 1,998 total snaps across the offensive line and allowed just 10 sacks.

Wallace then left Fayetteville as a fifth-year senior and made his way into the professional ranks with the NFL. The Denver Broncos signed the offensive tackle as an undrafted free agent. Washington signed and released Wallace as well. The Seattle Seahawks later worked him out during the 2019 season.

Current head coach Sam Pittman recruited Wallace to Arkansas, serving as the team’s offensive line coach at the time. The two worked together for one season before Pittman left for the same role with the Georgia Bulldogs.

Wallace was the No. 77 overall recruit in the nation in the 2014 class and the No. 1 prospect in the state of Missouri, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting services. He was the No. 5 offensive tackle in the country as well, proving to be a huge recruiting win for the Razorbacks at the time.

Despite his own achievements, Brian Wallace was part of a Razorbacks team in 2018 that finished at 2-10, including losses to Colorado State and North Texas. After another abysmal season in 2019, Arkansas made a change and hired Pittman to his first D-I head coaching position. The Hogs are now a solid top-25 outfit for the upcoming season.