Arkansas Football Preview 2026: Can Ryan Silverfield Fix the Razorbacks?

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You never really know how a new head coaching hire will work.

Sometimes, the right guy is the right fit at the right time, and it all crushes right away. But here’s sort of the problem with new Arkansas head man Ryan Silverfield.

He didn’t win any American Conference titles in his six years at Memphis, and now he has to prove he can take a program like Arkansas and make it shine.

How Quickly Can Ryan Silverfield Change Arkansas?

At Memphis, there were two seasons with ten or more wins, but none of his teams finished higher than third in the conference.

With that said, Arkansas will be happy if Silverfield keeps the Hogs from being last in the SEC.

Arkansas didn’t win any SEC games last year and hasn’t had a winning season in the conference since 2015.

Even worse, that 5-3 SEC campaign under Bret Bielema was the only time the program was better than .500 in the league since 2011 – the last year under Bobby Petrino.

No one is expecting miracles right away out of Silverfield, but he and his staff did a magnificent job in the transfer portal, he’ll get the benefit of low expectations early on, and anything better than nothing will be something out of this year’s defense.

It’s Silverfield’s program to make into his own. He has a lot to work with and a lot of work to do.

– 2026 Arkansas Schedule Analysis

Arkansas Quick Hits

• Head Coach: Ryan Silverfield (1st season; 7th season overall, 50-25)
• Best Case / Worst Case: Reach a bowl game and establish a foundation for the future/Another season at the bottom of the SEC
• Key Player: Quincy Rhodes Jr., DE Sr.
• 2025 Record: 2-10
• Biggest Question: How fast can all the new transfers mesh into a winning team?

Arkansas Key 2025 Stats

• 13th in the nation in total offense, 122nd in total defense
• Penalties: Arkansas 93 for 804 yards, Opponents 73 for 607 yards
• Fumbles: Arkansas 14 (lost 9), Opponents 12 (lost 3)

Offense

The Memphis attack was great last year under new Hog offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey. It finished 35th in the nation and put up 489 yards in the win over Arkansas.

The Hog attack cranked up 500 yards in that and ended up 13th overall.

There’s a lot to like coming back, and the portal helped, but the new staff isn’t going to make this side of the ball any better than it was last season.

What’s Working

The bones of the offensive line are great. The Razorbacks had a nightmare of a time in pass protection, but that was partly because of the style of former quarterback Taylen Green – the sack stats were a wee bit of a statistical anomaly.

Enough talent is back up front to be okay, and getting tackle Bryant Williams from Louisiana and bringing over guard Malachi Breland from Memphis should be strong.

The running back situation is terrific, considering leading rusher Mike Washington is a Las Vegas Raider.

Sutton Smith is a quick back who ran for 669 yards at Memphis last year, and 235-pound power back Braylen Russell returns after averaging over five yards per carry. Michigan transfer Jasper Parker adds a third back who can handle the work.

Memphis offenses didn’t have turnover problems under Silverfield. Last year’s attack only gave the ball away 12 times, was wonderful in the red zone, and was excellent at keeping control of the tempo.

Last year’s Arkansas offense had a nightmare of a time with giveaways, turning it over 20 times, with three or more in four of the losses, including the misfire against Memphis

What Needs Work

Who’s the quarterback? There are several good options, but no one is Taylen Green, who’s now with the Cleveland Browns.

KJ Jackson is a big option who saw plenty of time last year behind Green, AJ Hill came over with the coaching staff from Memphis, Braden Fuller is an interesting option from Angelo State who could make a strong push in fall camp.

The receiving corps needs the transfers to hit. Losing leading O’Mega Blake, but it doesn’t help to miss the main man.

Chris Marshall was good at Boise State, Jelani Watkins is a wispy flash of lightning from LSU, and Jamari Hawkins is a veteran from Memphis who knows the system.

Combine them with holdovers CJ Brown and Ismael Cisse, and the situation isn’t bad. The group might just need a bit.

Again, the offensive line should be a positive if everything breaks right, but the Memphis offensive front was way too leaky.

Awful in pass protection, and bad at giving up tackles for loss, the protection wasn’t there like it needed to be at times. The new Hog backfield needs all the time it can get.

Player to Watch

Jaden Platt, TE Jr.
Several other Hogs will be in a brighter spotlight than the veteran tight end, but few players are more intriguing than Platt.

The 6-5, 260-pounder is a huge option who averaged over 14 yards per catch last season on his 21 grabs.

The new starting quarterback should rely on him early and often, and he’s big enough to be used as a key blocker, too, with tight ends Matt Adcock (Memphis) and Ty Lockwood (Boston College) two good receivers.

Defense

Okay, new defensive coordinator Ron Roberts. Let’s see what you can do with this.

The Arkansas defense played like it had nine guys on the field.

Bad against the pass, worse against the run, it was all bad. It allowed fewer than 300 yards in the two wins over Arkansas State and Alabama A&M, and more in the ten losses against everyone else.

Enter the transfers to help Roberts – who comes over from Florida – to try fixing this.

What’s Working

The pass rush shouldn’t be too bad. Getting into the backfield was a problem throughout last year for the Hogs, but there’s hope, mostly because top sack man Quincy Rhodes Jr. is back after coming up with eight sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss.

The Hogs will be counting on Trajen Odom (Ohio State) and Steven Soles (Kentucky) to help bring a boost.

There’s SEC size in the interior. The new coaching staff figured this one out fast. The Hogs need more defensive linemen.

The defensive tackles were big, but they needed to do more. This year’s interior gets back 315-pounder David Oke to go with 300-pounders Hunter Osborne from Virginia and Xadavien Sims from Oregon to work into the rotation.

Speaking of addressing the issues, the Hogs brought in lots and lots of defensive backs. At least 12 will play key roles in the fight for depth chart spots around Miguel Mitchell, the lone holdover from last year.

Former Tulane corner Jahiem Johnson and Cincinnati safety Christian Harrison are the best of the massive bunch of new prospects, but they’re just a part of the puzzle. The new two-deep should be far, far better.

What Needs Work

The transfers in will be a huge help for the defensive line, but there were a few huge losses, too. Texas grabbed gigantic 387-pound Ian Geffrard for its own defensive interior.

Losing Justus Boone (Wisconsin), Kevin Oatis (Kansas), and Carlon Jones (USC) doesn’t help.

Okay, so the past is the past, and the new coaching staff didn’t have anything to do with the problems of the last few years, but this is a heavy lift.

Arkansas allowed 31 points or more nine times last season and is 1-17 over the last three years when allowing that many or more. (By the way, Memphis gave up 31 or more in five of the last seven games last season.)

It’s not like the Memphis defense was a brick wall. The assumption here is that new will automatically mean better, but that’s not a sure thing.

The Tiger D was statistically great because it dominated the Troys, UT Chattanoogas, and Rices of the world, but it got rocked for 450 yards or more five times and was 1-5 when bombed on for 8.5 or more yards per attempt.

(Of course, the one win was over Arkansas.)

Player to Watch

Bradley Shaw, LB Jr.
With so many parts from last year gone, the Hogs desperately need a veteran in the middle of the linebacking corps to be the leader and star.

Shaw should step up after making 50-tackles with two sacks and five tackles for loss in the rotation.

Keys to the Season

• Settle on a quarterback to build around from the young, talented lot.
• Find something that works right away on defense and rely on it.
• Fix the special teams coverage units that were ripped through too often.

Player Who Needs To Shine

Hunter Osborne, DT Jr.
Let’s just go with all the defensive tackles. The ends will be fine as long as Quincy Rhodes is doing his thing, but the improvement in the run defense starts with getting better play out of the interior.

Osborne is a good-sized veteran who made 16 tackles last year for Virginia, but he needs to be a disruptive force right away next to David Oke on the nose.

Biggest Concern

Finding a quarterback
The Hogs have three good ones, but can any of them stand out like Green?

The former starter was a slippery-smooth 6-6, 235-pounder who led a high-octane attack that did everything humanly possible to keep games alive.

The offense will try to be more controlled, but in a loaded SEC at the position, Arkansas needs someone special.

Biggest Game

Tennessee, October 10
The schedule doesn’t do Arkansas any favors – if it wins at Utah, in the SEC opener against Georgia, or at Texas A&M, Merry Christmas.

In the sixth game of the season, Arkansas will be what it’s going to be. The schedule eases up for a little while, and with a win over the Vols for the fifth time in six tries, it could be a program-changer.

Transfer Portal

Arkansas went huge in the portal because it had to. It won’t make the full two-deep out of transfers, but it won’t be far off.

Defensive backs, defensive linemen, defensive players, more defensive players, and a decent number of prospects to improve the offensive depth – the Hogs underwent a talent overhaul.

Best Signing

Chris Marshall, WR (Boise State)
The Arkansas offense averaged close to 14 yards per catch last season. The speedy Marshall should do even more to take the top off of defenses.

The 6-3, 222-pounder started at Texas A&M, went the JUCO route in 2023, and ended up at Boise State.

Banged up for most of his first season, he came back roaring with 30 catches for 574 yards and two scores last year, averaging over 19 yards per grab.

Biggest Loss

E’Marion Harris, OT (Oklahoma)
The line will be fine, but Harris would’ve been an anchor at one of the tackle spots this season. Now the 6-7, 313-pounder will be a key part of the Oklahoma front five.

Other Names to Know

• Khmori House, LB (North Carolina)
• Braydon Lee, CB (Maryland)
• Malachi Breland, OG (Memphis)

CFN Season Prediction

Welcome to the SEC, new coaching staff.

The staff did everything it was supposed to do this offseason. It loaded up the team with new players to make it all better, but even if the Hogs do everything right, the schedule is too nasty to expect a massive improvement.

It would be nice to have more layup wins to fatten up the record.

CFN Prediction: 4-8

North Alabama and Tulsa. Arkansas will win those two games, but even if everything is better on defense, and even if the offense maintains its same level of production – at Utah, Georgia, at Texas A&M.

Where’s the win among those three games over the first part of the season?

The victories have to start flowing in the middle of the campaign, with Tennessee, Missouri, and South Carolina coming to Donald W. Reynolds, but at Texas and LSU to close won’t be easy.

There’s a chance Arkansas will get to a bowl game, and it’ll pull off an upset or two, but the rebuild won’t be finished right away.

Related: SEC Football Win Totals 2026: Spring Predictions for All 16 Teams

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