Arkansas heads into Saturday night’s matchup with No. 20 Utah with a little more clarity about one of its quieter defensive additions from Week 1. Fifth-year linebacker Ben Bogle turned a limited role into a productive one in the Razorbacks’ 31-14 win over North Alabama, and now he’s in position to keep carving out meaningful snaps for the Hogs.
Bogle played just 15 snaps against the Lions, but he made them count. The 6-foot-1, 226-pound West Virginia transfer finished with three tackles - two solo and one assist - plus a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. He’s listed as the backup MIKE linebacker behind junior Bradley Shaw, but Arkansas clearly sees value in the experience he brings.
That experience has been built in layers. Bogle spent three seasons at Southern Illinois, where he became an All-American, then had a short stay at West Virginia before landing at Arkansas in this portal cycle. On Wednesday, he explained how the path unfolded.
"Out of high school, I played linebacker pretty late," Bogle said on Wednesday. "Just with COVID and all that kind of stuff, I ended up going FCS at Southern Illinois.
Played a couple years there. Met some of my best friends and whatnot.
Put together a couple really good years, and then saw an opportunity in the transfer portal.
"Went to West Virginia, and then after last year, I had one year of eligibility left, and I wanted to put myself in the best position to make it to the NFL, and obviously that's the SEC. It's the best competition in the country, and so that's kind of how I ended up here.
His first game in an Arkansas uniform gave the staff a useful look at what he can do when he gets on the field. Ryan Silverfield said the rotation gave Bogle room to settle in and make plays.
"We did rotate, especially those three," Arkansas head coach Ryan Silverfield said. "Then he got a ton of reps.
It was an opportunity to go out there, and he just got into a rhythm. He did a really nice job, especially taking things to the perimeter and seeing what was going on.
He does a great job of studying the film.
"We'll see how that rotation looks. A lot of it depends on how those first two guys are doing, if we need to get them in and out.
It was good to see him making plays. It also gives you confidence that if he goes in, he's going to do what he needs to do."
Bogle’s background suggests there’s more where that came from. At Nease High School in St.
Johns County, Fla., he piled up 202 tackles and 19 sacks, though the pandemic limited his recruiting traction. He eventually landed at Southern Illinois and played in 29 games with 11 starts, finishing with 119 tackles, 44 solo tackles, 75 assists, 20 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, two pass breakups, four quarterback hurries, six forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Arkansas brought him in as a three-star prospect, the 533rd highest-rated player in the transfer portal and the 33rd best linebacker after his 2024 season at West Virginia, where he appeared in 12 games and totaled 37 tackles, 19 solo tackles, 18 assists, five tackles for loss, three sacks and one forced fumble.
For Bogle, the formula now is simple: stay steady, stay vocal and keep improving.
"Just being consistent, communication with the entire defense, being the same guy day in day out, showing the coaches that you know I can be a voice out there on the field for them, and just continue to be consistent," Bogle said.
"That's [Arkansas defensive coordinator Ron Roberts' ] big thing is consistency, and so yeah, B-Shaw and [junior linebacker Ja'Quavion Smith ] are awesome. They're great to be around, and they've helped me throughout this time as well. I just try to be consistent every day and continue to get better every day."
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The focus is not just on the opponent, but on how Arkansas handles the details that tend to decide games like this. The Razorbacks will need cleaner execution, and the conversation around the matchup has centered on the kinds of issues that can swing a tight road game, from discipline to protection to overall play at quarterback. For a team looking to set a tone early, this one feels like more than a September date on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]