Arkansas will head to SEC Media Days with a familiar mix of proven production and fresh faces around first-year coach Ryan Silverfield.
The Razorbacks’ group for the event, set for Thursday, July 23, at the JW Marriott in Tampa, Fla., includes offensive lineman Caden Kitler, defensive lineman Qunicy Rhodes Jr. and running back Sutton Smith. The league’s annual Talking Season begins Monday, July 20.
Rhodes Jr. is the headliner on paper. The North Little Rock native is coming off a 2025 breakout that put him on the SEC’s radar, with preseason all-league recognition from Athlon Sports and Phil Steele already following him into 2026.
He finished last season with 44 total tackles, a team-best 15.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, six quarterback hurries and a forced fumble. Those 15.5 tackles for loss were the most by an Arkansas defender since Trey Flowers matched that number in 2015.
He also stacked up a few notable firsts for the program. Rhodes became the first Hog to post double-digit tackles in a season since Landon Jackson in 2023, and the first Razorback to have three multi-sack games in a season since Tre Williams in 2021.
He ended the regular season 13th nationally and second in the SEC in tackles for loss per game at 1.23, while ranking 23rd nationally in sacks per game at 0.67. His biggest single-game eruption came Nov. 1 against Mississippi State, when he logged six tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, one sack and a forced fumble.
That 4.5-TFL performance was the most by an Arkansas defender in a game since 2005, and he was one of only three Power 4 defenders last season to hit that mark.
Kitler returns for his redshirt senior year after starting all 11 games he played in along Arkansas’ offensive line last season. The Colony, Texas, product helped the Razorbacks reach six games with more than 500 yards of total offense and was part of an offense that improved by 119 rushing yards.
That surge helped senior running back Mike Washington Jr. become Arkansas’ first 1,000-yard rusher since Raheim “Rocket” Sanders in 2022. Kitler and the line also allowed just 29 sacks, the fewest by an Arkansas team since 2019, and the Razorbacks went through sack-free games against Arkansas State and Ole Miss, their first consecutive games without giving one up since 2015.
Smith brings a direct Silverfield connection with him from Memphis, where he spent the last four seasons. In 2025, the redshirt junior played in 12 games and piled up 1,058 total yards, rushing for 669 yards and seven touchdowns on 102 carries while adding 20 catches for 109 yards, 155 kickoff-return yards on five attempts and 125 punt-return yards on 15 tries.
He had three 100-yard rushing games, including a 147-yard, one-touchdown effort against Arkansas on Sept. 20.
His 64-yard scoring run with 4:51 remaining turned out to be the game-winner. Smith also ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries against Troy on Sept. 13 and finished with 109 yards and two scores on seven carries against East Carolina on Nov.
- He added a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown at UAB on Oct.
Smith tied for ninth nationally with two rushing plays of 60 yards or more and is one of 14 returning FBS running backs with an 80-plus-yard rush last season.
Silverfield will be making his SEC Media Days debut after a six-year run at Memphis that produced a 50-25 record, two 10-win seasons in 2023 and 2024, and bowl eligibility every year. The Tigers won 29 games over his final three seasons, a stretch that put Memphis among the nation’s top 15 teams in victories.
Arkansas opens the season at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium against North Alabama on Sept. 5 at 3:15 p.m. on SEC Network.
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