Arkansas fans already knew Mike Washington Jr. could rip off a big run in a blink. Now the Las Vegas Raiders are getting the same lesson in real time.
The former Buffalo and New Mexico State back put together his best collegiate season at Arkansas in 2025, topping 1,000 rushing yards and finishing with nine total touchdowns. In a 2-10 season that gave Razorback supporters plenty to grimace about, Washington was one of the few steady sparks.
That burst has carried straight into the NFL preseason. Drafted by Las Vegas with the 122nd overall pick, Washington opened eyes in his debut on Aug. 13 against the Arizona Cardinals, when he broke loose for a 53-yard run and finished as the Raiders’ leading rusher with 63 yards on six carries.
He kept rolling Thursday against the Houston Texans. Washington again led Las Vegas on the ground, this time with 56 yards on nine carries, and his longest run of the night covered 33 yards. He also chipped in as a receiver, catching two passes for 18 yards on three targets.
That dual-threat ability wasn’t new to Arkansas followers. Last season, Washington hauled in 28 passes for 226 yards and a score, often turning short throws into something bigger once he got into space.
For Las Vegas, the challenge now is turning those explosive flashes into steadier production. If Washington is to carve out a role behind 2024 Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty, the consistency in his yards per carry still has to come along. But the speed is obvious, and the kind of open-field juice that can change a drive showed up twice already in the preseason.
There’s also a quarterback wrinkle in the mix. Veteran Kirk Cousins is expected to start for Las Vegas to open the season, though rookie Fernando Mendoza could see time at some point this year. If that happens, Washington’s reliability as a pass-catching back could be a useful safety valve for a young quarterback getting his footing.
However it shakes out under center, Washington has already given the Raiders a glimpse of what Arkansas fans saw all last season: a back who can turn a routine touch into a highlight. And if he keeps stacking runs like these, Las Vegas might have landed more than just a useful rookie.
In Other News...
Arkansas Tight Ends Suddenly Face A Bigger Test Without Lassiter
Maddox Lassiters season-ending injury leaves Arkansas with more than just a hole in the tight end rotation. His value had gone well beyond the box score, with teammates and the tight ends coach pointing to his leadership and physical presence as steadying forces inside the position group. Even while recovering, Lassiter has stayed involved in practice in more of a coaching role, a sign of how much the staff has leaned on him as both a player and a presence.
Now the challenge shifts to the rest of the room, which has to absorb what Lassiter brought on and off the field. Arkansas has made it clear the expectation is for others at tight end to step forward and handle a larger share of the responsibility, a test of depth and readiness at a spot that suddenly looks a lot more important. [Read more 🡒]
Arkansas Fans Are Paying More For A Stadium Problem That Wont Go Away
Arkansas football has given its home crowd plenty of reasons to stay invested, even if the payoff has been hard to find. Since the end of the 2021-22 season, the Razorbacks have won only three SEC home games and carry a 3-13 conference mark in Fayetteville, yet the stands have still largely held up, with average attendance sitting around 69,762 during the 2025 season.
Now some of those same fans are being asked to pay more for the privilege, as the Razorback Foundation has moved to eliminate grandfathered seating rates. The timing has added to the frustration around a program still trying to reverse its home-field slide, though upcoming visits from Tennessee, Missouri, South Carolina and LSU could give Ryan Silverfield and his staff a chance to start changing the mood inside the stadium. [Read more 🡒]
Arkansas D-Line Just Got A Promising NFL Draft Signal
Quincy Rhodes Jr. and David Oke have already landed on an early NFL radar that matters for Arkansass front line. Both senior defensive linemen were named to the 2027 Panini Senior Bowl Top 300 List, a sign that their names are at least being tracked as the draft process begins to take shape around college footballs all-star circuit. For a program that has leaned on disruptive play up front, getting two linemen recognized in the same group gives the Razorbacks something concrete to point to in a room that is always looking for next-level potential.
Rhodes arrives with the kind of resume that can carry real weight after a standout 2025 season, while Okes path has been more complicated after limited playtime because of injury following his earlier stint at Abilene Christian. The Senior Bowl list does not guarantee anything down the road, but it does put both players in a conversation that NFL scouts will keep revisiting as the season unfolds. For Arkansas, the more interesting question is how much more of that buzz the defensive line can generate before the evaluation process really heats up. [Read more 🡒]