Ismael Cisse is walking into fall camp with a belief that goes well beyond a strong season. The redshirt junior wideout says he and Ryan Silverfield are chasing championships, and he isn’t softening that message.
Cisse, one of the few holdovers from the previous roster, missed all of fall camp and the regular season last year after suffering a wrist injury in an offseason weightlifting session. That setback kept him off the field, but it also gave him a different view of what this team needed and how he could help from the sideline.
He made it clear that Silverfield arrived with a winning standard from day one.
"When [Silverfield] came in, man, it was just, it wasn't really no like, 'Let me get to know the realm of the SEC' or 'get to know the realm of the team,'" Cisse said. "It was like, shoot, 'I'm coming here.
They hired me to win.' And so we believe he's somebody that can help us win.
Not just three games, four games. championships."
That’s the kind of message Cisse has fully bought into. He said the goal is bigger than just reaching a bowl game.
"Bowl game, I mean as we know, all this in the SEC, that's part of the season, you know what I mean?," He said. "So we want to win championships, and he came in with that mindset, man."
The wideout’s first season at Stanford gave fans a reason to pay attention. He played in all 12 games, started five, and finished with 26 catches for 241 yards, good for 9.3 yards per catch. His 2024 highlights against Cal Poly showed how the staff used him all over the field, and his vision with the ball in his hands stands out as one of the reasons he could matter right away for Silverfield in his first year.
Cisse said the time away from football wasn’t easy, but it forced him into a different kind of growth.
"It was definitely hard on me," Cisse said of the wrist injury. "Obviously happened right before the season, man.
And I was going to have a great season, man. And so it definitely shook me at first.
But, you know, just talking with God, it was His plan and His timing.
"He just, you know what I'm saying, was teaching me over that whole year not playing football, man, and how to still be a leader. I can't be selfish out there and know that I'm not playing. So, I think that I could just, you know what I'm saying, sit down while my teammates is going out there competing and practicing every day."
That leadership piece keeps coming up around him. Coaches and teammates have described him as a glue guy, someone who helps hold the locker room together when things get rough. Cisse said the team’s identity this fall has to be built on everybody pulling in the same direction.
"This season going to be different than last season, for sure, you know what I mean?" Cisse said.
"We just coming together as a team: offense, defense, special teams, you know what I'm saying? We doing what we need to do collectively, and this going to be a season that's going to be one to remember for sure."
Silverfield has said he doesn’t mind if players dislike him during camp, which sounds like a coach who plans to tell the truth straight up. Cisse says that kind of honesty is nothing new in his life.
"Definitely my mom, my sister, and my grandma," Cisse said. "Always being on my side, but always keeping it real with me, you know what I mean?
Just letting me know, you know. Always on my side, but not going to sugarcoat nothing with me."
He said that same straightforward approach shows up with wide receivers coach Larry Smith.
"I just love the way he coach," Cisse said of Smith. "He just not like a coach, he like a brother, for real, you know what I mean? We could be around him, we don't got to be scared to, you know, ask questions or just communicate with him."
Cisse’s first SEC season is now here, and he isn’t backing away from the challenge. He said the team has to stay locked in and represent Arkansas the right way.
"I'm at Arkansas, man, so you got to rep your team," Cisse said. "If you're not repping your team, ready to stay on 10 toes about them, then you shouldn't be on the team you playing on, man."
With Silverfield’s approach, Tim Cramsey’s offense, and a receiver room looking to make noise, Cisse looks ready for his shot. The only thing left is for the fall camp work to show whether he can shake off the rust and get back to making plays on Saturdays.
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Now the ask is even bigger. The foundation has raised the goal to $50 million, with the money aimed at scholarships, facilities and other support for Razorback student-athletes, and donor perks still part of the pitch. For Arkansas, the early response is encouraging, but the new target also shows just how much more the program still hopes to build around Silverfields vision. [Read more 🡒]