Arkansas is heading into 2026 looking for reliable answers on offense, and C.J. Brown looks like one of the clearest ones on the roster.
The Bentonville native has already become a steady presence at wide receiver, and his production last season backed that up. At 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, Brown caught 28 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns, finishing fourth on the team in receiving yards. He also had at least one reception in 11 of 12 games, a sign that he was rarely absent from the action even as Arkansas’ offense piled up big numbers.
That production came in a season that ended with 10 straight losses, which makes it easy to overlook how much Brown contributed. But Arkansas is still leaning on him, and this time the expectation is bigger: he’s back as the team’s leading receiver for the second year in a row, and he’ll be counted on to help bring some stability to the offense alongside quarterback KJ Jackson, his friend and teammate.
Brown has already shown more of what he can do this spring. In Arkansas’ Red-White Spring Game, he posted three catches for 83 yards and a touchdown, including a 65-yard score. He spent most of spring working on the boundary, but in the showcase he also lined up in the slot, giving the staff a look at how versatile he can be.
"That's a play that me and CJ have been running since we stepped on college together," Arkansas quarterback KJ Jackson said after the scrimmage. "It's funny, we were on the sideline, and we just needed a play, we needed a big play. We hadn't had one all game, and CJ stepped up and played a big role.
"He switched positions, he was in the slot today, so he did a really good job. It's a big tell to his understanding of the offense because he played the A in the slot the first time all spring today, and he made plays for us. He's a playmaker, so get him in space and just get the ball to him and see if he can run and score a touchdown for us."
Brown averaged just over 11 yards per catch last season, and he was part of a receiving group that included six players with at least 12 receptions who averaged enough yards per catch to move the chains.
That kind of dependable production matters even more with the quarterback job unsettled between Jackson and redshirt freshman AJ Hill, who comes over from Memphis.
"It's been a really good spring," Brown said following the spring game. "Obviously I know KJ but getting to know [redshirt freshman quarterback AJ Hill] more, just getting better chemistry with both of them. On that play, it was kind of just a deep crossing route, and it was open, and KJ made a good throw, and then thankfully I was able to finish it off."
Brown’s path hasn’t been perfectly smooth. He got on the field as a freshman in 2024, but he also had issues that tested him along the way. Jackson said Brown responded by turning those early mistakes into fuel.
"When he first came up here, he was dropping a few passes his freshman year," Jackson said. "He had a few drops, had that fumble. But since that, he's taken it with a grain of salt and he's had a chip on his shoulder too."
First-year coach Ryan Silverfield noticed Brown’s work ethic when he arrived in Fayetteville, and he also made it clear that effort alone won’t be enough. Silverfield said Brown has leadership traits, but he wants to see that same standard hold up every snap.
“He’s one of those guys that, even during the downtime of the winter break when everybody went home, I had to run him out of the indoor sometimes,” Silverfield said. “Like, you gotta go take care of your body.
You’ve you had a heck of a season. You did some good things, but you got to take care of yourself.
But he loves to work. He loves the grind.
He shows leadership abilities as well.”
Brown took that message seriously, staying late at the football facility and putting in the work. Now the next step is obvious: turn the offseason progress into consistent production, not just the occasional highlight.
“For CJ, it’s going to be consistency,” Silverfield said. “I think just understanding, ‘hey, what I need to do day-in and day-out. I’ve told some of those wide receivers, they have a big play that shows up on social media, but where the hell are you on the other 50 plays?'
"For all of our wide receivers, that’s my challenge. Like, I frankly, don’t give a darn if you’re making one good play, that’s great.
But what else are you doing? Because if the rest of the time it’s a missed assignment, a possible loaf, not blocking, that’s not good enough.”
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