Riverside First-Team JUCO All-American Dwayne Wallace Talks Arkansas Visit and Recruiting

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

The finer points of being a good offensive lineman get down to technique, leverage, and pad level. Any lineman can play the position with the best technique in the world put if said player does not have a little bit of an attitude to go along with the size, strength, and a skill set, that player may never achieve greatness. One player that gets nasty in the trenches play after play and is a mauler of hopeful defenders is Riverside Community College offensive guard Dwayne Wallace.

Wallace is massive listed at 6’5”, 320 pounds. He is also quick for his size and finishes every play letting a defensive lineman or linebacker know he owns them until the clock rolls triple-zeroes. Riverside posted an 8-3 overall record in 2015 with a fairly balanced offense netting 2,633 passing yards and 2,246 rushing yards this season. In among all the pulling, trapping, and straight up head-to-head blocking was Wallace.

The Riverside area native had a lot of interest out of Martin Luther King High School but grades put him on a junior college track. Lucky for head coach Tom Craft and the Tigers, Wallace has been dominating from Day 1 earning All-State and First-Team JUCO All-American honors in 2014; time will tell if another All-American honor will be bestowed upon the prized lineman.

Division-I coaches from across the country have reached out to Wallace with teams like TCU, Arizona, Baylor, Arizona State, West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Houston showing various levels of interest. Teams like Arkansas, Cal, Fresno, Louisville, San Diego State, UT-San Antonio, UNLV, Washington State, and Texas Tech have all put offers on the table. Wallace has made visits to Louisville and Arkansas with another official coming up this weekend to Cal heightening interest in a recruit who can seemingly come onto a FBS campus this spring pushing for a starting job immediately.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview, I sat down with Dwayne to get an update on his recruiting process while covering his 2015 season.

Interview

Dwayne, you had a standout freshman season. How has your progress as a player improved from last year to this year?

“It’s been good. I got a lot of experience in my first year but I’ve gotten better my second year. It’s fun seeing my improvement, but I still have more to improve on. Moving forward, wherever I play next will be a little adjustment but nothing I can handle. I’m getting ready for that knowing I’m doing it all over again. I’m already leaving JUCO behind and just ready to start this process all over again.”

What skill sets do you have that make you a dominating offensive lineman?

“I feel like I’m an athlete. I can pull, trap, get to the second level – I can do all the above. I’m not just a run or pass blocker, I can do it all. The film don’t lie, I feel like I can do it all.”

Which do you feel like you do better at this point in your career, run or pass block?

“I’m a stronger run blocker.”

Do you know how many pancake blocks you had this year?

“This year I think I had 38 pancake blocks.”

You have some great offers on the table and made a visit to one of your offers, Arkansas, over the weekend. How did your visit to Arkansas go?

“It was good. I loved Arkansas.”

What excited you about your visit to Arkansas?

“Everything excited me, the people, the coaches, the environment, and Coach (Sam) Pittman (offensive line coach).”

How was your trip to Louisville?

“It was okay. It’s a great school.”

What are you looking for when you visit Cal this weekend?

“I’m just looking to check it out.”

Have you come up with a list of your top schools yet?

“Yes, Arkansas No. 1, Cal, and ASU (Arizona State).”

Do you know when you might visit Arizona State?

“I don’t know yet.”

Do you have a commitment date in mind?

“I don’t know yet. No timeline right now. I’ll go when I have my gut feeling telling me to.”

Do you plan on visiting Arkansas again or do you have a good feel for the program and campus?

“I have a good feel for them.”

Dwayne, thanks for your time today and good luck with the rest of your recruiting process.

“Thank you.”

Photo credit: scout.com; No. 62 Dwayne Wallace overpowers a defender.

Photo credit: pe.com; Dwayne Wallace in offseason workouts.